


Zootopia Adventures

by BlockSpiration



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crimes & Criminals, F/M, Gen, wildehopps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-03 00:43:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 43,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8689951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlockSpiration/pseuds/BlockSpiration
Summary: Join the famous cop duo as they tackle through different police cases and wacky adventures - From finding a missing doughnut lover to meeting a 'stranger' from out of this world. Nevertheless, size doesn't mean everything; no job is ever too large for ZPD's smallest officer pair. Includes a collection of multiple adventures and more soon to come!





	1. Early Morning Hustle

It has been about a month since Assistant Mayor Bellweather was caught in the act of allegedly masterminding the Nighthowler felony. Ever since then, prey and predator have recovered their bond of trust towards one another. Activities in Zootopia carried on as per normal; they board the same public transportation, work in the same stuffy, air conditioned offices and the kids played games of tag and soccer together in the streets and local parks once again. Quite a happy ending like what animated films always portray; And that's exactly how it felt like.

"Hey, you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"Yeah, well you shut up!"

"Hey, rabbit! You better be awake because you are not going to be sleeping with us awake!"

The deer from next door pounded on the drywall, which acted as a divider between two small apartments; One which a groggy, semi-conscious bunny was woken up by the sound of her ridiculously loud neighbours. As if the two flamboyantly rowdy deer were not enough to get her out of bed, the digital alarm clock set on her bedside drawer began to beep.

"You better hit that alarm, it is annoyingly loud!"

"Just like you are, big mouth!"

"Oh, you shut up!"

Judy sleepily shuffled towards the drawer and attempted to turn off the alarm clock by batting it with her paw, missing the clock a good number of times before actually hitting the off switch. Perhaps it's about time she moved on to an actual apartment of her own, she thought. She could hardly go to sleep with her pesky neighbours holding nonsensical heated arguments almost every morning and night. Especially when she has an acute sense of hearing as a bunny. It's impossible to get them to simmer down when all the replies from them were pointless retorts that reheat the incessant squabble. Taking a deep breath, she pulled on a bright smile and prepared herself for the day ahead.

Walking down the stairs, she eagerly greeted the landlady which rented her the room in Grand Pangolin Apartments, though Judy did feel that the prefix "Grand" does not exactly describe the actual settings of the apartment. The nine-banded armadillo dressed in a simple formal attire returned the gesture humbly as she exited the almost decrepit building, shading her eyes from the gentle rays of the warm morning sun. It was another gorgeous day in Zootopia; hardly does it have thunderstorms or bad weathers in the heart of the city. Other districts are an entirely different case, though. Spinning her car keys in one paw, she hopped gingerly towards her new form of transport; her very own police car. The size of the car was a giant as compared to Judy, but that was the smallest sized car that the ZPD could provide. It was originally suited for wolves, which were considered the smallest of the species in the force before Judy joined the ranks. Approaching the parking meter, Judy covered her face with her paw as she punched the side of her car.

"Oh, crackers! How many times must I forget about the parking meter?"

Judy exclaimed as she swiftly pulled the fine ticket off her car's windscreen wipers, hoping no one would notice that a well-known, all-rounder cop had been issued a ticket. Opening the car door, she hastily climbed up the seat, raised additionally by a couple of unneeded hardcover books and slammed it shut before opening the ticket in her paw. 

"Huh. This must be the new recruit. Chief Bogo sure does like to assign newcomers as meter maids." Judy exclaimed as she scrutinized the details and the fine print which was on the ticket. "013, thirteen tickets within half an hour; not bad for a beginner.”

It was a short ride before she arrived near a moss patched stone archway bridge which overhung a shallow river. As usual, Nick was waiting for her, clothed in the ZPD attire, looking all smug with his pair of nifty shades. Noticing the police car, he strolled casually towards the car door and entered the front seat.

Keeping his shades in the chest pocket, Nick eyed Judy with his typical carefree expression. "You were 5 minutes behind usual schedule; something went wrong, Carrots?" he asked. Judy's ears pricked up straight.

"We are still early for work, why do you care about me being 5 minutes off your loose schedule?" Judy retorted, trying to hide the fact that Nick had noticed that something was off. Without realizing she accidentally eyed on her pocket for a brief moment out of anxiety; Which Nick did not miss out on.

"Oh... I see now Whiskers. Got a ticket still even when you were once a meter maid?" Nick exclaimed, snatching the ticket off her vest skilfully with his nimble paws; One of the perks of being a formerly experienced con artist. 

"I- I- Give it back! Not everyone is perfect you know!" Judy blushed reaching for the ticket which Nick playfully held it away, her face flushed full of embarrassment. Nick chuckled, enjoying the look on her face.

"Well, if you say so, Sweetheart," Nick replied, sticking the ticket in between the black plastic panels of the car's air-con vents. Judy immediately retrieved the ticket and slipped it into her pant pocket, just in case Nick decided that toying with her once was not enough.

"You know, sometimes I do wish you would walk into a signpost head first," Judy noted with a slight smile, stepping on the fuel.

"Don't worry Carrots, I will make sure that never happens," Nick commented with a fake humble tone as he wound down the side window. Reaching into a paper bag, he took out a Styrofoam cup. "Care for some latte? Or a Mocha?" he asked as he reached into the bag and pulled out another cup.

"Or neither, I do not mind having a double the usual coffee intake, makes the day go a little faster," Nick expressed, head tilted towards Judy with an eyebrow raised whilst shaking one of the cups near her face.

"Latte, please,' Judy laughed, eyes fixed on the road as they made their way to work.


	2. Doughnut Disaster 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a regular work shift like all other typical days in the ZPD when Chief Bogo found out that Clawhauser, who was never absent, was not present that day. Due to his mysterious disappearance, Nick and Judy were tasked to find out more about the matter. Little did they know they were in for quite a surprise.

"Clawhauser!" Chief Bogo's assertive voice bellowed from the deputy chief's office located on the second floor, startling the office workers which were patrolling hurriedly between the levels. An elephant officer who was just walking past the office flinched hard from the sudden shout, dropping stacks of cluttered, unfinished paperwork onto his unlucky lion partner as the door slammed open, revealing an agitated grey cape buffalo in common navy blue ZPD attire. One hoof holding firmly onto a rather thick stack of red folders, the buffalo chief peered over the second storey's frosted glass panel railing.

"Clawhauser! Did I not tell you to keep the civilians out of my office? You better have a good explanation for-" Chief Bogo paused as he realized that the reception desk was vacant of a chubby doughnut loving tiger. "-this."

"Where in the name of Zootopia did he go?" he exclaimed, tucking the stack of folders under his arm. Scaling down the stairs, Chief Bogo approached the neglected post. The counter was untouched, free of pastry crumbs and messy work; no traces of Clawhauser's typical work habits present. Perplexed, the chief slapped the folders on the counter top.

"Wolford! Any news about Clawhauser?" Chief Bogo exclaimed loudly as a grey timber wolf officer entered the premise. The slightly startled officer paused for a brief moment, before shaking his head.

"Did not see him anywhere in the vicinity Sir," The canine reported, stretching and arm behind his back to relief an urgent itch. "He has been absent since the start of the day."

The chief groaned in disbelief, running a hoof through his face. "Please go and get whoever is free to visit my office; I could not have civilians flooding requests and distress signals without reporting their cases at the reception desk."

"On it Sir," Wolford acknowledged.

"Oh and one more thing; Get Delgato to man the reception," Chief Bogo added, pulling away from the counter and headed back up to his office.

The Chief took a deep breath has he halted at the office door, adjusting his tie neatly and putting on a stern blank expression. Entering the room, he was immediately greeted by a herd of different animal civilians - ranging from a worrisome rabbit to an irritated Tiger. The conglomeration of multiple voices was polluting the room full of sound, rendering him unable to address their issues at all. Mustering a fake smile, he led the group of flustered civilians out of the office. 

"But Chief Bogo, my carrot stand was stolen! I could not afford to lose my business, the population in bunny burrow needs feeding!" The bunny begged.

"Be patient and get in line at the reception desk Sir, I am pretty sure there's not only one bunny that's selling carrots for profit," Chief Bogo reassured, forcefully pushing an unwilling hippopotamus through the door frame. The other animals cleared the way as the hippopotamus stumbled forth, having to steady himself with the railings outside.

"Oh, dear police officer! I have lost my knitted stockings for winter! Would you kindly help me find it?" An old sheep asked, gently tugging the chief's uniform as he reached for the door knob.

"Ma'am, I am pretty convinced that you have lost it in your ever so beautiful and fluffy fleece," Chief Bogo replied kindly, guiding her outside of his office as he swung the door near to a close.

"But I am really sure that Mr Biggins took it from me," the she explained.

"And Mr Biggins is the handbag that you always keep in your fleece, Ma'am. Have a nice day," he exclaimed, gently closing the door shut. Exhausted from all the herding, Chief Bogo flumped down on his office chair. 

"Ugh... This is the exact reason why we have to have a receptionist! These civilians should know better about our priorities."

Making himself comfortable on his armchair, he reached for his smartphone; but decided not to after remembering that he has already revealed his well-kept secret to Clawhauser on accident. One person knowing of his shameful desire to be Gazelle's stage dancer is more than enough to cripple his image. Sighing, he turned his chair facing the city's map on the sidewall.

"Not much is happening these days; almost every case reported are minors which some did not even require assistance from us. It is almost as if we have become an odd jobs department." Chief Bogo muttered, gazing at the rather clean map on the billboard; which previously had been posted full of sticky notes detailed with numerous pending cases.

Ever since the ZPD dealt with the remainder of the cases, Zootopia has remained crime-free for quite a period of time. There were still occasional cases which stand out from the minors, but that alone did not require the whole police force to settle. Which lead them to conform to daily patrols around the city and handling the ever additive load of petty cases which restock its numbers every even day. Things like kids getting stuck on trees to a locating a lost precious marble of no value; Chief Bogo rolled his eyes thinking of how nonsensical the cases given to them were getting. Wasn't the fire department supposed to handle kids in trees? Maybe they have grown weary of such common practice. 

"Chief? I have brought two officers who are free for duty," Wolford's voice could be heard outside the office as the officer knocked on the door. Startled, Chief Bogo quickly grabbed his phone and stuffed it in his pant pockets. Getting stuck by lightning twice in the same spot is not going to happen for him. Placing a clenched hoof on his neck, he cleared his throat.

"Come in. Wolford, continue your patrol duties."

The white windowed door opened as two officers strolled into view. One was a lithe built, round-faced bunny, suited in common dark blue pants, a sky blue shirt and equipped with a kevlar vest. Her ears were perked up in excitement, eyes glinting with the need for adventure. Alongside the bunny, a red fox tagged along; Clothed in a navy blue uniform with sleeves, complimented by a high collar with a gold aiguillette and the ZPD insignia on his shoulders. His uniform also came with a smart black tie and slick ironed pants. The fox held onto a cup of ice blended smoothie, sipping the cold beverage with a unique smirk as his eyes were hidden behind a pair of large shades. 

"Ah, Nick and Judy. I think this case would be perfect for you since it has got to do with Clawhauser," Chief Bogo welcomed them as he gestured them to the seats opposite of him.

"Clawhauser? What happened to that Jolly chump?" Nick asked, clipping his shades onto his chest pocket.

"Well, it has been a long time since Clawhauser skips a day of work. He hardly ever takes an unofficial leave. And now today, he is missing. I need you two to investigate... check out on him. We could not have civilians pacing into my office; It is tiring to attempt to entertain the problematic especially when they rush in here in big numbers." Chief Bogo explained curtly.

"That totally does not sound like something Clawhauser would do," Judy agreed, batting Nick's paw off from touching her bobtail. 

"Whats with you and touching fluffy objects?" she hissed at Nick as Chief Bogo was retrieving a case file in the cabinet, back facing towards them.

"Come on, it's fun to touch!" Nick answered back, returning Judy with his usual signature smirk on his face as he rested his head back on both his arms. "You think Clawhauser might be donut shopping? Cause I definitely do-nut think so,"

"Har har, very intuitive and funny of you, Nick," Judy whispered as she kept her eyes fixed on the Chief.

"You are welcome to laugh at my brilliance, Hopps," Nick replied, taking another sip from his cup.

Chief Bogo turned back towards the table, sliding a case file to Judy. "These are the details. Apparently Clawhauser did not pick up any of the calls we made to his house or smartphone; which might mean he is not home. I would like you two to pay a quick visit to his apartment and perhaps find out what in the world is going on. This case might be serious or plain simple, purely dependant on the scenario that takes place there. If it turns out to be a serious case, let us know immediately. Officer Delgato is currently manning the reception desk; just report it to him. All clear?"

"Clear as the day, Chief!" Nick exclaimed with a firm nod as he pulled away from the desk to face Judy.

Eyeing on Nick once more, Chief Bogo closed the file. "It will be your second case other than paperwork, Nick. I trust you enough to bring me results. Do not let me down. Make us proud as our first fox officer."

"Roger that, Sir; I will do my best," Nick replied with dignity in his tone, trailing behind Judy as they proceeded out of the office.


	3. Doughnut Disaster 2

Judy held onto the red soft covered folder, skimming through the small print on the single paper of the rather vague report. Her eyes darted from word to word, careful to not miss out any hidden or underlying clues that would be a bonus to solving the mystery much faster. Not much could be studied in the report itself; there were no pictures clipped along with it and the description of the case was way too generalized. After a brief moment of proofreading it multiple times, Judy scowled grumpily.

"This is just the exact same as our very first 48-hour case log; No leads to work on, I guess we have to start from scratch when we reach Clawhauser's house," Judy said as she snapped the folder shut and handed it to Nick. "See what I mean? Unless your acute detective senses could sniff out something like you did last time with the traffic cameras."

"Having full access to all traffic cameras in Zootopia is _way_ different from deducing from a single piece of paper decorated with a handful of written lines, Hopscotch. I am no super detective, but I can always try," Nick replied as he scanned through the details. "Yup, there is zero information that would even help us here. I mean, the description here is whatever Chief Bogo had already delivered to us in his briefing," Nick added, gesturing his paw at the written words.

"I hope Clawhauser simply lost telecommunications signal in his region," Judy exclaimed, walking out through the main sliding glass doors of the modern ZPD building. Nick followed behind, taking out his shades and wearing them just as the afternoon sun's glaringly bright rays hit his face. His soft fur radiated a strong vibrant orange under the sunlight.

"Such a bright sunny day, I hope your chocolate treats for Easter are not melting in your pockets," Nick joked, playfully elbowing Judy on her side as they entered their police mobile parked right outside of the premises alongside a busy road. This time, Judy had specifically reminded herself to keep note of the time to avoid being issued another golden ticket.

"Do I look like an Easter bunny to you?" Judy responded sarcastically as she inserted the car keys into the ignition switch, starting up the engine.

"Yes, you do. And I think you do make a pretty fine Easter bunny," Nick answered with a keen smile. He finished the cup of smoothie as he strapped on his seatbelt, resting the case file on top of the car's dashboard. "This time, I am keeping the seatbelt on and _real_ tight just in case a little bunny decides to stomp on the breaks again."

"You know, I just might one day when I catch you off guard," Judy commented, sipping the warm latte which Nick had treated her during breakfast; which was cooled to a lukewarm now as the time hit noon. Quenching her thirst, she placed the cup back inside the cup holder and grabbed hold on to the steering wheel.

"Like I said before Whiskers, that will never happen," Nick countered, eyes wide open as his paws were raised in an act of playing defensively. Judy rolled her eyes in disagreement as she drove the car down the street, manoeuvring across parked cars and slow traffic. As Judy had her eyes fixed on the road, Nick switched on the radio to a soft volume. Another great hit from Gazelle was playing on the channel; "Hippos don't lie". Resting his back on the seat's comfortable leather bound recliner, he nodded with the rhythm of the song.

"I wonder what the biggest fan of Gazelle would be storing in his house." Nick inquired as he whipped out his smartphone and tapped away. Accessing his social media was one thing that's a necessity for him. It had been integrated into his usual hourly routine ever since he acquired a phone.

"A whole collection of her albums? I do not know," Judy remarked, cocking an eyebrow as she slowed the police vehicle to a halt in front of a red light. "Just pass a couple more flats and we should arrive at his doorstep."

"Probably more like everything in his house being branded with Gazelle's name," Nick answered his own question with a slight smirk; busy browsing for something using the Zoogle search engine application on his smartphone.

"Come on, Nick. Stop staring at the screen and admire the scenery outside," Judy commented, tapping her digits on the steering wheel with enthusiasm as she studied her partner indulging in the world of technology. As a bunny living in a farm, she was not supportive of being fully reliant on modern day inventions; they were reliable - but way too reliable. Judy preferred to accomplish tasks without relying on them unless it was absolutely necessary.

"As a former con artist myself, let me re-inform you that I have been to almost any nook and cranny this city has to offer. I do not feel entertained watching the same sceneries a thousand times, Carrots. Neither do I see the need to do so anyway," Nick disclosed courteously, shifting his eyes to meet hers. Judy paused to come up with a complaint but cancelled her pondering as the traffic light switched to green.

"Just do not get addicted to using your phone," Judy exclaimed as she continued driving. "It is a conversation killer and I got _you_ as a partner for a _very_ clear reason; Else I would have been better off with a ragdoll as my partner," she made a left turn down a street as she told Nick.

Nick slipped the phone into his pants pocket. "Why so serious, Hopps? It is not like I never spoke to you at all," he replied casually. Judy flinched from the sentence and pulled on a grumpy expression. "Okay, okay! Fine, I get it, I promise to be socially engaging so do not be mad alright?" Nick gave in, petting her on the head with his paw. Resisting a smile, she turned her head away from him.

"Oh, giving me the silent treatment now? Don't think that I did not notice you trying to conceal that obviously wide smile of yours," Nick added, resting his arm on the dashboard, supporting himself as he sat on the edge of his seat; attempting to steal a glance of her face which she was still unwilling to expose.

"Fine, you win this round!" Judy laughed as she turned to face him. "But I do have something to say to you," She added.

"And what would that be Whiskers?" Nick asked with his usual carefree expression, removing his paw from her head.

"EMERGENCY BREAK!" Judy exclaimed loudly as she slammed hard on the breaks, sending an unstable, wide-eyed Nick yelling and crashing into the dashboard as the impact made the seatbelts he was strapped on give way, dropping onto the car's carpet below. It took a moment for him to recollect his thoughts, and even longer for Judy to seize her uncontrollable fit of laughter.

"You really are a sly bunny you know that," Nick addressed with a hint of annoyance, dusting his uniform with his paws. "Well, you got me now, bunny cop. You win the bet. Happy? Bet you are."

"Told you so I would get you," Judy burst into laughing once more. "Never let them see that you are going to get to them," she joked.

"I am pretty sure that's not how I phrased it, and why in the world did you apply emergency breaks while driving? There are other cars behind us, you could have caused an _accident_." Nick responded dryly as he climbed up the seat.

"Which proves my point that you need to stop looking at your phone, Dumb fox; We have reached our destination, thought I could have made use of that opportunity when you were seating on the edge," Judy replied, wiping a tear from her eye. "There are no cars roaming about in this street, excluding parked ones; anyway. Let's get down to business - I hope that everything is alright for Clawhauser."

Opening the car door next to the pedestrian pavement, Nick alighted their slightly oversized car first; Lending Judy a paw as she made her way across Nick's seat and jumped down with his guidance. Nick gingerly massaged his left paw as they proceeded towards the apartment complex. "Ah, Ow, ouch... I think I might have bruised my paw a little when you threw me off my seat belt," Nick muttered as he rubbed the sore spot, wincing slightly. Judy's ears shot right up and immediately rushed to his aid.

"Oh, oh I am so sorry! Is it bad? Does it hurt?" Judy asked worriedly, instantly regretting the prank she had pulled on him.

"I'm fine, had worse than this before," Nick replied, chuckling as he admired her caring about his injury. "Just give it a day and it should heal up. Enough of my bruise; go check up on the apartment, we still have a case of a missing Gazelle fanboy."

Heading up the porch stairs, the two officers entered the building. It was slightly humid and uncomfortably warm in the lobby; Faded wallpaper wrapped around the old walls of the apartment. Ceiling lights hanging from dust dipped wires provided a moody light to the place. Only the potted plant which sat beside the set of spiral staircase carpeted in velvet seemed fresh. A dishevelled goat dressed in odd attire and a clipped on tie manned the reception desk. "Now, what floor does he accommodate in?" Judy asked as Nick fished out the case file which was rolled up and tucked snugly in his pants back pocket. Reopening the file, Nick ran a digit down the details on the paper. "It is... ah, here - Floor three, room seven."

"Which is three sets of stairs to climb! Time to crack this case!" Judy exclaimed excitedly as she grabbed Nick's paw tightly, dragging him towards the flight of stairs.

"Ah! Watch the paw, watch the paw Carrots!" Nick yelped in pain, whining slightly as he yanked his paw off her firm grab.

"Oh, cheese balls! I am so sorry!" Judy apologized, embarrassed from both acting childishly and accidently pressing on Nick's bruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Doughnut Disaster 3

"Clawhauser? Are you home?" Judy asked as she knocked firmly on the wooden door of her colleague's apartment.

No respond came from the inside, only the sounds of her knocks could be heard echoing throughout the rather musty hallway. The hallway reminded Judy of her own apartment complex that she lives in - poorly conditioned, barely any ventilation and unbelievably gloomy as always in the early hours of dawn. It was covered by a dust packed cream coloured carpet, lit by a small series of rather weak and rusted brass wall lamps. The rooms were lined with a set of old wilted plants in ceramic pots that were wrapped with a number of hairline cracks, a sign that the landlord was clearly not attending to them. Even some of the door plate numbers were missing, perhaps dropped off and became a key artefact for some animal's peculiar metallic number collection.

"I don't think he's in there, Hopps," Nick commented, keeping his shades.

"Just give it a moment, he might be busy with... something!" Judy denied with a look of uncertainty on her face but still being optimistic as always; earning a half-lidded smile from Nick. After a rather dreadfully silent and awkward wait, she knocked on the door once more - this time much stronger, still to no avail. "Clawhauser! Are you home? Hello?"

Her ears shot right up as the door gradually gave way, creaking on its rusted hinges; revealing the living quarters of the chubby officer. Apparently, the door was not locked. A gust of cool wind blew against the pair as the air-conditioned air diffused into the stuffy corridor they were standing in. Judy stood still, paw still held out like she was still knocking as she held a wide-eyed, absent-minded gaze at the scene presented before her. Nick held his position beside Judy, cocked an eyebrow in curiosity as he tilted his head towards exposed portion of the room.

"Dark, dim hallway - Check. Cold breeze that sends shivers down your spine - Check. An unlocked door at the end of an eerie corridor - Check. Totally not creepy at all," Nick muttered with the side of his muzzle as he eyed longingly at Judy. As calm and collected of a fox he was, Nick certainly did not have a soft spot for scary places. Judy let out a soft laugh as she noticed Nick instinctively shifting behind her.

"Come on, Nick! This is scary to you?" Judy joked, gesturing both her paws at Nick. "Its just a semi rundown apartment!"

"I - I am not scared, just you know... self-defence. Yes, self-defence," Nick justified sheepishly, placing both paws on top of her shoulders, gently nudging Judy to take the first step. "As usual, ladies first."

Walking into the living room, the pair studied Clawhauser's rather well-furnished apartment. Just front of them was a two seater cotton covered recliner made complete with a set of four pillows. On the wall opposite the comfy sofa mounted a forty inch digital television accompanied with a slick set of black theatre grade speakers capable of surround sound. A white wood table sat in between, with a zebra stripe patterned wool rug underneath. Adjacent to the wall with the Tv set, an air conditioner ventilated the room with cold air right above a simple metal framed window which looked out into the streets below. Nick whistled in awe as he headed towards the sofa. He pressed his paw on the unbelievably soft seat, ears perking up as he plopped onto the snug two-seater. Looking at the other seat, Nick chuckled as he retrieved a small, hand-sewn pillow he found leaning on the other side.

"Hey Carrots, want to know something interesting I fou- Gah!" Nick exclaimed halfway as he jumped from the sound of a closing door, one paw clutching at his chest as the fur on his tail stood on end. "Did - did you just close the door?"

"Yes I did, we do not want any extra visitors now do we?" Judy replied as she returned from the door. Eyeing on Nick's flustered expression and posture, she covered her mouth with her paw as she snickered. "You were scared by the sound of a door shutting? You silly dork." Nick flushed red from embarrassment. Unable to withstand the awkward moment, he cleared his throat.

"Well, guess what I found, Whiskers," Nick changed the subject as he reached for the pillow which he had previously dropped on the ground. He held it out to her, showing a delicate crochet of what seems like Clawhauser and Gazelle's faces residing inside a heart shape. Right under the heads, the words "I heart you" in a fanciful serif font was stitched onto the pillow as well. Nick let out a wheezing laugh as he pointed at the wordings. "You see this? By god, he surely _is_ head over heels in love with Gazelle!"

"Oh, I did not realize he is that big of a fan of Gazelle," Judy exclaimed as she saw the design on the pillow case. Judy was a fan of Gazelle as well, but she is not a diehard fan like Clawhauser is.

Nick placed the pillow back to its original spot and nimbly hopped off the couch. "You think he might be in the bedroom? Unless for some odd reason, he decides to hide underneath the kitchen counter."

Judy glanced at the kitchen which was merged together with the living room, just a shy few meters away from the recliner. The kitchen set was mainly of brown and orange - Several orange hard plastic cabinets lined up near the ceiling, combined with a bottom row of kitchen cupboards made of maple wood - which had a fine layer of lacquer finish, making it gloss under the kitchen lights. Polished black marble slabs were overlayed on top of the cupboards and counters. Ironically enough, the counter seemed spacious enough for her to imagine someone large like Clawhauser fitting inside; not entirely, but enough to slot in snugly. An off white refrigerator hummed softly beside the cupboards; its door proudly showcasing a large poster of Gazelle in her usual concert outfit, singing into a microphone. She watched as Nick shuffled towards the fridge, obviously curious to find out what was inside.

"Let's see what he has for dinner," Nick said as he reached for the handle and opened the fridge. He shrugged knowingly as he viewed the contents inside. Every tiered shelf inside it was stacked full of donut boxes. There were different labels on the packages; namely "Jelly", "Frosted" and "Cream filled" were the most common. Some boxes seemed to have been opened before, as shown by the torn surface of the boxes and crumples in the folds. Right next to him, the compartments which hung on the backside of the door were stuffed with a multitude of instant coffee pouches. "Why did I even try to guess, huh? It's obviously packed full of donuts and coffee."

"That is not an ideal healthy diet he's having," Judy agreed, mouth agape at the sheer amount of donut boxes being stored inside.

Closing the fridge shut, Nick patted his paws together as he walked a few paces towards Judy, but stopped after the pulsating pain on his left paw reminded himself of his bruise. "I guess we have the bedroom left to investigate?"

"I guess that is the case," Judy replied.

The pair approached the only other door of the apartment. Hung on the brass door knob was a white acrylic "Do Not Disturb" sign, which Judy did find a tad silly as Clawhauser did claim that no one else lived with him; making the sign's purpose redundant. Nick dropped on all fours beside her, startling Judy as he peeked through the half inch gap between the door and the floor.

"The light is switched on inside the room; I think I see a pair of paws," Nick whispered quietly as he stood up. Sharing glances with one another, Judy nodded as she whipped out her air powered elephant tranquilizer. It was the most suitable, light-weight firearm which she was able to carry and holster on her small utility belt. All other pistols were either too big for her paw to wrap around the handle or that the recoil from firing had thrown her off balance; which resorted to her using a tranquilizer gun instead. Light as a feather, silent as the night and best of all, it was nonlethal and will not cause bloodshed - which Judy favours. Loading a dart into the gun, she held it pointed to the ground, ready to fire. If the shadow inside was a burglar, he is going to be sleeping for _quite a while_ when the dart makes contact with him.

Nick eyed on the gun anxiously. "You better not miss and dart me instead, I have had enough of being unable to move for twenty-four hours," he indicated, remembering the time when Judy had first shot him in the bum for no apparent reason. It instantly turned his muscles into mush and rendered his whole body paralyzed. And unfortunately, he was still conscious after being tagged by the dart. It was the longest and dullest twenty-four hours that he had ever experienced.

"I did not miss, I had it aimed at you the whole time since you were trying to be clever by hiding right above me," Judy muttered softly as she leaned against the wall next to the door. "On the count of three."

Nick tip-toed as he grabbed the door knob, ready to turn it the instant Judy counts down to one.

"Three,"

"Two,"

"One,"

"Hands in the air, ZPD!" Judy shouted as Nick unlocked the door and forcefully kicked it open. Eyes darting across the room, she searched for the target; her aim followed suit. Judy lowered her gun as soon as she saw a chubby cheetah's lower half sticking out of the wardrobe. The whole bedroom was a mess - clothes were flung all over the place, the mattress stockpiled with a huge load of random clutter. She could clearly tell that every furniture in the room was shifted out of their respective places. The dresser was leaning against the bed frame, the cupboard almost restricting the pair from entering the room. And the wardrobe was moving along with the cheetah's body as he stumbled left and right.

"Ah! Do not shoot! It's me, Clawhauser!" the body in the wardrobe exclaimed.

"Yes, we know that," Nick answered as he made his way through the mess.

"Oh, it's you guys! I am _soo glad_ Chief Bogo sent you here!" Clawhauser chimed with relief in his tone.

"What happened to your... bedroom? It looks like an aftermath of a hurricane," Judy exclaimed, picking up the clothes which were littered on the floor.

"It’s... a long story. I will explain to you guys later; for now, I need you to do me a favour," Clawhauser replied. "As you can kind of guess - which I hope you should have figured by now, I am... stuck."

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Doughnut Disaster 4

Nick stood behind the chubby cheetah, his right paw supporting his chin with a digit raised in an attempt to conceal his evident grin. He watched in sheer amusement as the wardrobe bobbed along Clawhauser's clumsy footing, desperately trying to keep balanced. One of the wardrobe doors was locked in place, which the chubby cheetah presumably attempted to squeeze through but was stuck instead. Judy was to his right side, also keeping hold of her own nearly surfacing giggles. Nick observed her through the corners of his eyes; Surprised that she was actually appreciating this funny moment rather than scowling at him for not helping the poor ZPD receptionist who was lolling about with a wardrobe engulfing his upper torso. But he did have to give Judy the benefit of the doubt - If this was a scene in a Slapstick comedy show, it was surely a laughable one. Usually, you would see a head stuck in a goldfish tank or a hand lodged in a kettle; But half a body being eaten alive by a wardrobe? Now that's a first.

"Um, guys? A little help would be delightful, it's kind of claustrophobic in this cramped up wardrobe," Clawhauser exclaimed shakily, leaning forward with the edge of the wardrobe pressing against the corner of the walls to support himself from toppling backwards. He took in heavy breaths, heaving from exhaustion. Being unfit was undoubtedly proving to be detrimental to his stamina. "I... uh... phew! Might not be...huh... able to hold on to this... wardrobe any _longer!_ "

Judy snapped back into her usual self as soon as Clawhauser pleaded for help. "Oh, oops! Hang in there Clawhauser! I'll see if I can get this wardrobe door to unlock! Do you by chance remember where the wardrobe keys are?" She asked hurriedly as she scavenged through the bedroom cabinets.

"Oh, I always keep it - keep it... ...." Clawhauser muttered as he fell silent.

"Keep it where?" Judy inquired, running her paws over the mattress in hopes of finding the key.

"...with me, but I - I had accidentally dropped it into the bottom of the wardrobe as I was searching for something important," Clawhauser answered solemnly from sudden realization, the wardrobe jerking downwards as he slumped his shoulders and tail in utter disappointment.

"Oh," Judy responded, pulling her paws out of the pile of clutter as she retrieved a half-eaten mouldy doughnut from the mess. It spluttered from her pinch, secreting an awful inedible yellowish goo from where the jelly filling was supposed to be. "Perhaps we could forcefully pry it open then?" she added as she held the rotten pastry away from her in disgust, dropping it into the bedroom's waste bin. Judy looked away as she shook her hand violently to release the sticky slime from her paw into the bin below. Nick observed the slime dripping into the bin, eyebrows forming a frown with his muzzle pulled back as he scrunched his nose in revulsion.

Judy snapped her digits on her slime coated paw as she figured a nifty idea. "Nick, since you are experienced in the art of a con artist - you should know how to pick a lock right?" Judy questioned with her dirtied paw held out in the air.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do know how to," Nick replied smugly, placing his paws on his hips as he gave her a half lidded smirk. "...not that I used them for _illegal purposes_ , though," Nick clarified with a digit raised after a brief pause as he cocked his head to the side.

"Good, glad to know that," Judy exclaimed, tossing a paperclip towards Nick, which he bounced it several times between his paws before failing miserably to catch it . "Go do that and in the meantime, I have to make a trip to the washroom."

"You really toss like a bunny, you know that!" Nick retorted with irritation in his voice, earning a dismissive wave from Judy as she headed for the toilet. Ears pulled back, he sighed and proceeded to Clawhauser's aid. "Stay still buddy, I will get you out of there in no time. Mind if I climb up your back?"

"Sure, anything to get this wardrobe off me!" Clawhauser exclaimed with a desperate pant. Nick worked his way up the tiger with ease, the paperclip held casually by his canine teeth like he was biting onto a romantic rose stalk in a ball dance. One thing which Nick knew about his pairing with Judy that differentiates from others was that they were the smallest of the ZPD; therefore, they had to improvise on everything which required a bigger animal to accomplish. Standing on top of his overweight colleague's shoulder, he retrieved the paperclip from his muzzle. Bending the soft mouldable metal, he gingerly shaped the paperclip with the help of his claws as pliers to suit the keyhole of the wardrobe.

"Wow, I did not expect you to be this light," Clawhauser mused. "I mean, I understand Judy being light as a feather, but I could barely feel your weight as well!"

"I will take that as a compliment," Nick answered humbly as he slid the makeshift key into the lock. Turning the paperclip clockwise, it turned a good ninety degrees before its rotation became stuck again. He pulled the paperclip out and continued to tinker with the key pattern. Nick smiled; the last time he had to picklock something was when Finnick had forgetfully locked him inside their van whilst he was napping. He had honed his skills of picking all kinds of locks that most of the time he would hit the jackpot in his first try. It's been so long since he had ever made use of this talent that his finesse was starting to fade. But he was confident the second attempt would work like a charm. "This one would be the winner."

Fitting the prototype key into the lock once again, Nick wound it clockwise with confidence. A metallic click could be heard as it unlocked; the door flung open right after, releasing Clawhauser from its tight grip. Free from the weight of the massive wardrobe, the chubby tiger lost his sense of balance, tethering back and forth awkwardly; finally falling flat on his rear end, leaning against the solid bed frame. Nick barely managed to leap off the crashing cheetah, tumbling onto the ground. He sat up with an arm supporting his body like a tripod stand as he observed Clawhauser holding a paw onto his round chest, catching ragged breaths; fatigued from all that wardrobe carrying.

"Whew! Made it in the _nick_ of time, would have been crushed flat otherwise...." Nick commented as he remained seated. He propped his legs up, knees bent as he leaned forth, resting his elbows on top. "See what I did there?"

"Very funny Nick, I am so laughing to that," Judy replied scornfully as she returned from the washroom, drying her cleaned paw with a paper towel. "I see you managed to free Clawhauser while I was gone."

"You know you like my sense of humour, Whiskers," Nick exclaimed as he returned her with a sly smirk plastered on his face. "And yes, I did."

"Thank you guys _soo_ much! I would have been _done-zos_ in there without the help from you two!" Clawhauser praised gratefully as he wiped the sweat off of his brow. Judy passed the sweaty cheetah a spare piece of paper towel and sat beside Nick.

"Now that you are out of the wardrobe, could you fill us in the details of why you were absent from work?" Judy questioned curiously, flipping the front cover of her notepad with one paw and her trusty carrot pen held in her other. "Keep it short and summarized, if you can."

Glancing around like a shopping mall thief, Clawhauser held one paw shielding his mouth. "Please do not spread this to anyone once I share it with you guys; it was supposed to be a secret that only I know!" he whispered. Judy and Nick nodded slowly in sync.

"You know getting a ticket for the _best seats_ in Gazelle's concert is a one in a _lifetime_ opportunity right? Thing is, I have the tickets for it!" Clawhauser buzzed. Judy sat up straight the second she heard what he said.

"You do!?" Judy exclaimed in total shock, unable to resist the excitement which was building up inside herself. Nick let out a soft chuckle as he watched Judy's rather exaggerated reaction. Judy flushed red as her acute hearing picked up his laugh and landed a swift punch square in Nick's elbow.

"Really now, Carrots? I think I might resign as your partner if I am going to accumulate injuries not from tackling criminals but ironically from you," Nick complained wryly as he massaged his arm.

"Come on, that's not even a serious punch," Judy retorted cheekily. Placing herself back on topic, she locked eyes with Clawhauser once more. "Sorry, a fox diverted my attention; please continue." Nick eyed Judy with an apathetic expression, arms crossed.

"As I was saying, yes; I do have tickets for the seats... But I lost them along my way back home. You see, there was this promotion going on that a selected number of doughnut boxes would have a redeemable coupon hidden inside of it. And as you guys know me as the doughnut lover of ZPD, I had a good chance for one to fall in my paws. It was such a great offer! Killing two birds with one stone as a matter of fact. So, I went on a daily routine of eating at the nearby ducking doughnut outlet when I clock out from work. And thank the gods of doughnuts- if there is one, anyway; my prayers were answered today! I was having my breakfast there before heading to work and Blam! Four redeemable tickets at my personal disposal! I tucked the coupon into my pants back pocket before proceeding to work. It had to be the best morning ever!" Clawhauser whispered loudly in sheer excitement.

"Could you recall any event that took place which might be linked to your missing tickets?" Judy inquired, her pen still busy scribbling the details onto a fresh page of the notepad. "Like, did anyone bump into you, or did you leave the table for a short moment? Any plausible explanation would be ideal."

Clawhauser rapped his digits on his belly as he recollected his memories. "I never left the table, I always finish my meal and clean up by myself... as for bumping into anyone...I do not recall such an event."

"That's a bummer," Nick murmured. Judy's ears drooped from the depressing intel.

"Wait, no! I did feel something brush past my leg as I was skipping happily to work... does that count?" Clawhauser asked anxiously, his tail coiling upwards with hope.

"Yes! Yes! Now we have a lead!" Judy sprang up from joy. Clawhauser breathed heavily as he brought his paws up to his face in happiness. Nick chuckled once more at the sight of two over-excited animals - or Gazelle fans, dependant on which perspective you look at from. But his thoughts were cut off when Judy's paws attacked him on the shoulders. His eyes widened and pupils constricted as she shook him vigorously. "We've got a lead!" Judy announced cheerfully into his ear.

"Judy, I swear to god, you bruised my paw, punched me in the elbow and now you are- " he paused as he watched Judy celebrate the moment with Clawhauser. He smiled as he felt a warmth spreading inside himself. The same warmth as the time he was preparing to join the Junior Ranger Scouts when he was nine. It was a feeling which Nick had also felt when she presented her with his badge during the ZPD graduation day. A feeling which he wished would never fade. She was part of his family now. And he would never forget what she did to save him from his problems.

"Thank you, Judy, for everything," Nick muttered softly as he observed her.

"What did you say, Nick?" Judy asked as she was too excited that she did not catch the entirety of what Nick said.

"It's nothing, Carrots. Let's crack this case shall we?" Nick replied with a smirk on his face.  
  
  
  


 

 


	6. Doughnut Disaster 5

"Sure thing! Let's _hop_ on to the next stage of case cracking!" Judy exclaimed with excitement as she light-heartedly pulled away from a seemingly brimming in cloud nine Clawhauser.

"Aw, come on, Carrots! That was a pun that only I am allowed to use," Nick retorted playfully, smiling. For a split second, Judy could have sworn that that was the first time after a long period that Nick had displayed not the usual fare of con artist smirk but a genuine, warm smile. His happy demeanour made her undeniably cheerful as well, for reasons unknown to her, she started to view him not just as a partner in the police force, but also as an older sibling. Seeing he satisfied in his life which he once had hated and shunned from was heartwarming. Staring at Nick, she looked away immediately when his eyes met up with hers.

"What's going on in there, Whiskers? Still stunned by the amazing crime discovery?" Nick asked with an eyebrow raised in question. His vision was as sharp as a blade refined by whetstone; she could almost never get away from him when she is not honest about a matter. Probably because one of the key requirements of being a professional con artist required him to be able to pick out even the slightest of exploits one could manipulate out of his victim. Not to mention that she was one of his many "Pawpsical" scandal scapegoats; Which she still holds a slight grudge on him for. She shifted her sight back on to Nick. "Probably; But more of looking at your rare case of warm smiles."

Nick's smirk dissolved into a thin line, eyes wide open as his face flushed a slight tint of red. "I uh, I just felt the need to - you know..." he rambled absent-mindedly as he searched desperately in his mind for words to say. For once, the bag full of jokes and cringe-worthy puns Nick drew a blank. "Is it wrong for a fox to show his feelings?" he muttered, conceiving that he had nothing clever to shoot back to save his dissipating suave.

"It's totally fine!" Judy laughed at Nick as she gave his neck tie a gentle yank. He blinked at her blankly with his lower jaw closing and reopening, forming soundless words. Nick grumpily frowned at his flustered state of mind. She chuckled at him, letting go of his tie. “You are acting silly now, pull yourself together you dumb fox!"

"Ahem, back to the case shall we?" Nick faked a cough as he recovered from his embarrassing antics. Huffing, he sprang back up on his two feet from his former seating posture and sauntered casually towards the bedside cabinet; retrieving the case file which he had placed before he climbed atop of Clawhauser. Nick's fluffy tail swayed lazily against gravity as he made his trip back to Judy. He flipped the single piece of paper in the folder for added measure, pretending to be intrigued by the written details of the report as he took a seat beside her. She giggled from his sarcastic body language. "Is the pen in your possession?" he inquired condescendingly, smirking as usual.

"Oh, yes I do, Officer," Judy replied as she pulled out the carrot pen from her utility belt.

"Good, because we will need to record and plan out a few things onto this report for future references," Nick explained keenly as he rested the file on the carpeted ground. Judy leaned forth, pen readied in her paw.

"You said that something small brushed past you, right?" Nick asked right after waiting for Clawhauser to simmer down, which took quite a moment. If that cheetah deserved a trophy of recognition, it would probably be "The most capricious animal award". He knew fully that Clawhauser was the kind that floats haphazardly on a barely buoyant raft down a lazy river packed full of emotions. One prod was sometimes more than enough to stir the tranquillity inside of the chubby cheetah.

"Yes! Yes! I am certain of it!" Clawhauser piped with overwhelming anxiety, his paws driven firmly onto the floor.

"Could you tell us approximately where you were when it happened?" Judy questioned, seriousness set in her solid glance at the report as she skilfully spun the pen with her paw. Nick observed Judy as he placed a paw firmly on the corner of the file, keeping it firm for her to write. He smirked as he admired her impressive level of concentration and passion - one of the values which he had found rather amusing the first time they met; which was why he had the urge to stick around with her throughout the case solving besides getting himself off of her hook. Her passion was an undying flame, and he was attracted to its shimmer like a fly mesmerized by a light bulb. Not to mention that her optimism and zeal reminded him of his past self - and also that she had outsmarted and outwitted him on multiple occasions.

"I was crossing the junction near Aspen street if I am not mistaken," Clawhauser answered thoughtfully as he glared apprehensively at Judy; who was currently scribbling down what he said onto the vacant lines of the report.

"Do you by chance, remember the time?" Nick added. Judy had finished her note taking, returning her glance at Clawhauser, eyes opened wide - pleading for an answer. "Give or take ten minutes that will be splendid."

The chubby cheetah pondered hard. "I did check on my phone's clock as I was awaiting the order, it was uh, seven forty in the morning? Yeah, I think that was the time. Ducking doughnuts there is a well-known pastry restaurant, so it usually takes a moment to order. But the queue today was relatively short," Clawhauser blurted out as he ran through the memories of his fateful morning. "That would put me at around eight twenty-ish when I left the outlet!" he noted with confidence.

"8:20 a.m., Aspen street traffic junction," Judy repeated out the journaled notes, which Clawhauser nodded vigorously in confirmation. Affirmative that they had the right info, Judy looked at Nick and exchanged nods. Keeping her pen, she stood up, brushing the back of her pants and doing a couple of quick hops to work out the leg muscles; all that sitting had strained her thighs. Nick closed the file and rolled it into a tight cylinder, sliding it into his pants side pocket. "We shall investigate further into this matter and update you if anything pops out," Judy said with a bright smile at Clawhauser as she made her way to the door with her back facing the mess without tripping over anything. Nick got up, lowered his head and gave the chubby cheetah a hasty salute before catching up to her.

Judy was already waiting impatiently at the entrance of Clawhauser's apartment as Nick exited the bedroom. She was tapping her left foot repeatedly as she gazed at him making his way carefreely towards her. He sighed mentally as he studied the antsy bunny cop. Even though she had many good qualities which he adored her for, Judy also had cons. Somehow, bunnies were the exact polar opposite of sloths; they were quick paced, sped up and sometimes impatient. But the good side was that they only acted like this if they are excited. Nick could not resist a chuckle; now he has one friend who is abnormally slow and another good partner who is contrastingly fast. Now all he had to do to make this complete was to create a one-liner for Judy as well. Problem is, the name Judy does not rhyme with any words that symbolize slowness to make the phrase ironic. Attempting to mock her for the sake of having fun, Nick deliberately walked towards Judy like a sloth.

"I-might-take-some-time-to- reach-there-Judy," Nick exclaimed as he mouthed the sentence word by word in a low, awkward baritone. Judy stared at him in confusion, taking a moment to realize that she had unknowingly allowed her bad habits to resurface due to her uncontainable excitement. She giggled at Nick when he made his way to her as if he was re-enacting the famous scene of a movie character "Thomas A. Anteaterson" in The Matrix; pretentiously dodging invisible projectiles in evidently faked super slow motion.

"Okay, okay! I get it, sorry for being impatient!" Judy apologized, smiling at Nick. Smirking, he stopped his act and walked normally, joining her as they proceeded down the dim hallway once more.

"I guess you know what's the next step is, Whiskers," Nick commented, holding onto the wooden railing as they skipped down the flight of stairs.

"Parking Duty?" Judy replied with an innocent expression on her face. Nick eyed at her sceptically. "Of course to check the traffic cameras, duh!"

"Phew, I thought you had lost your shine, sly bunny," Nick retorted with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "You do have access to the ZPD resources now... right? Or just the same perks as a typical meter maid?" he questioned as the previous time they accessed the traffic cameras was via Bellwether's compact "Assistant Mayor" office. Or rather, just a claustrophobic and narrow room which was originally supposed to be a locker room but was furnished with a set of monitors to accommodate a petite sheep. But now that he came to think of it after they knew of the ex-mayor's true devilish nature, that room was absolutely befitting for such a villainous animal.

"Do not worry, ever since I was reinstated inside the ZPD after my upsetting leave, I had been granted full access to everything inside the headquarters," Judy noted as they exited the building. They had bid farewell to the receptionist, but the deer was too engrossed in his newspaper reading that he did not notice.

"Hope that is the case, Officer Hopps," Nick said, opening the car door for Judy. "You just need to track his facial features for me and I can source the suspect. I know everybody."

"Sometimes I do wonder what kind of business you deal with," Judy exclaimed as she buckled up her seatbelt. "Which means I still doubt that you only sell pawpsicals." she added flatly.

"I told you the truth, if you wish to not believe in a sly fox, I can't stop you," Nick replied with a disappointed frown as he climbed up the seat.

"I was just kidding, Nick. You know I trust you," Judy explained, stepping on the gas as she turned the ignition switch of the police car.

"Do I know that? Yes, yes I do," Nick chimed, locking eyes with her while closing the car door shut with his free paw.

"Did you just copy what I said before?" Judy scrunched her eyebrows into a slight frown as she asked, maintaining the stare.

"Well... you did steal a phrase of mine before, so why not?" Nick chuckled as he gave her a toothy grin.

"I guess you do have a memory like a steel trap," Judy exclaimed cheekily, prodding Nick playfully on the side of his head with her paw.

"And that was quoted from the naked Yak from the naturalist club, you thief," Nick scoffed, rubbing tenderly at the spot where Judy had poked him on the head.

"So what? Are you going to arrest me for that, Officer Wilde?" Judy joked, peering over at the rear window as she shifted the engine gear to reverse; carefully manoeuvring the matt black cruiser out of the tightly spaced parallel parking lot. "I do not think that there is a law which I am infringing anyway for stealing quotes from other civilians."

"Maybe I would Officer Hopps if you continue to mime out whatever I say," Nick replied diligently.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


 

 


	7. Doughnut Disaster 6

It was a rather typical five-minute ride back to ZPD's main headquarters. Nick had the radio blasting rat pack music whilst Judy struggled to maintain her focus on the road over the disturbingly loud volume. Though she had a bursting urge to yell at the oblivious fox to lower the volume, Judy refrained herself. She had to admit, the famous band was rocking classy and soothing to hear. It differs from her usual preference of upbeat and catchy music but she might just be developing a new taste upon listening to the vocals of five talented rodents. They had arrived at their destination just as the band was finishing the song with a nice instrumental solo.

"You should definitely get an album of them, their music is _a hundred percent_ pure molten gold," Nick suggested as he switched off the radio right after the song ended and the radio channel's advertisements started to roll in. "Listened to it when I was dealing a trade with Mr. Big in his territory, did not take long to get hooked to it. I guess even the most fearsome crime boss in tundra town has a good taste for music."

Judy retrieved the car keys from the ignition switch. "Never thought that I would like a different genre of music, but I enjoyed it!" She exclaimed, spinning the aluminium carabiner which holstered her keys with a digit a good number of times before casually depositing the keys into her utility belt. "But I did not know you were into this kind of music, Nick."

"Well, I cannot blame you for that," Nick replied, shrugging his shoulders. They exited the bulky car, making their way towards the main entrance of the building. "Even Finnick finds it peculiar that I prefer classical songs over his favourite slick French raps. I guess I have a liking for calming music."

"Maybe that is why you are so laid back," Judy said, adjusting her belt.

"Says the hoppity bunny that listens to upbeat music," Nick countered, smirking at her. Judy raised a digit in an attempt to argue but puffed her cheeks out grumpily with a sulking frown, ears drooping when she could not think of a swift come back. He chuckled slyly as he outwitted the clever rabbit once again. After the numerous number of occasions which Judy had outsmarted him, Nick was determined to earn the crown back in his possession. Never would he let his twenty enriching years of experience go to waste because he was tricked by a mere cop. Approaching the rotating doors of the ZPD headquarters, Nick grabbed onto one of the railings of the door and humbly gestured Judy to enter. "Ladies first, as always."

"Such a polite, well-mannered fox you are, Nick," Judy smiled, hopping through the entrance; Nick pushing the door by its handle, pacing behind her.

"Be my guest, Carrots," Nick replied as he strolled behind Judy. Upon entering the air conditioned building, the pair was immediately greeted by Delgato manning the reception desk up front. It was a fresh sight from the usual large sized Clawhauser who was as wide as the replica of the ZPD police badge mounted on the wall right behind the counter. The tiger officer hurriedly switched his focus back onto the dreading lengthy queue with a sheepishly forced smile, attending to impatient civilians as soon as Nick and Judy waved back at him. As busy as it looks, none of these potential cases were likely to be of importance. Passing the washrooms by the side, they ascended the escalator to the second floor.

"So, where are we headed?" Nick said, spectating the flustered receptionist flailing documents aimlessly in the air as they rode their way upwards.

"My own office, of course!" Judy answered excitedly. She pivoted her body forward with her paws lodged in her pockets. "Chief Bogo has allowed me my own office if you had not known."

"Still not a year old veteran in the ZPD yet you have your own hobbit hole? That's an achievement." Nick acknowledged.

"I have my own work area situated inside, equipped with a computer that has full access to ZPD's database."

"Darn it, I thought it would have been an easily accessible mini carrot farm," Nick shrugged with a sardonic smile. "And meanwhile, I only have our cruiser as my lounge during break time. Is there room for one more in your agricultural office? Or just small enough for a rabbit to fit through?" he added, sarcasm in his tone.

Judy scratched her cheek as she pretentiously pondered about the subject. "Hm, you are right - It is just a meek little cramped up carrot farm housing only a single bunny." She turned to face him "I have considered sharing, but now that you mention it, maybe it is worth reconsidering the matter."

"It's just a joke, come on, don't take it too seriously!" Nick explained with a ragged, uncertain laugh. He paused as she continued her act. "You are not making me work alone in that stuffy and dull office cubicle now, would you?"

"But the carrot farm..." Judy contemplated innocently.

"You know you really like to milk things, don't you?" Nick growled softly with mild irritation in his voice.

"Yes, Fluff tail, do not worry - I had sent that request to Chief Bogo yesterday," Judy assured him, not wanting to upset Nick. Solving a case with negativity in the mood would lead them nowhere. Approaching the second floor, the pair stepped off the escalator. "Now let me guide you to my current - and soon to be your future workplace... you better keep it tidy when you shift there."

Nick smiled. "I can promise you that, as one who had practiced all codes of conduct in the Ranger Scouts manual." He halted, saluting as he assumed attention position.

"Not really that convincing from your casual dress code," Judy chuckled, making a right down a hallway lined with a series of office doors. Nick smirked at her and resumed walking.

"This is way better than Clawhauser's apartment," he whistled in awe as he strolled down the hallway covered by an intricately designed modern carpet. Instead of an eerie passageway which seemed to lead to certain death, it instead glowered with the essence of a fine, well-conditioned hotel. The doors were similar to the ones which boxed the Chief's personal office, each individual one mounted with its own card slot holding a cue card with the tenant's name imprinted on it. Nick could see a few familiar names on some of the doors; He had seen the name tags of many police officers patrolling around town and he could even describe them accurately enough. Officer Rhinowitz, the Rhino who he had caught a glimpse of when he spectated Judy from afar. Then, she was in hot pursuit of Duke Weaselton, one of the con artists which he recognized - and would never forget. Officer Francine & Trunkaby, the elephants of ZPD; they were so large in crowds that missing sight of them was impossible. Alongside with the many others, but not all are given their own offices. And just a few doors away, they stopped in front of a door with the wordings "Judy Hopps" printed in bold on the cue card. He watched frivolously at Judy as she made use of the potted plant beside him to catapult herself upwards, using the momentum to efficiently spin herself like an athletic gymnast around the door knob, opening it with style.

"You sure are agile, Hopscotch," Nick complimented her as he dusted his foot on the carpet. Judy puffed her chest outwards with pride, paws holding onto her hips as she looked towards the sky like a clichéd superhero. Nick snickered at her flamboyant display. "Now now, Carrots. Going to save the day once more?"

"Actually, yes. I am indeed going to," Judy replied as she walked into her room in big strides. Nick sauntered lazily beside her, keeping up with her pace. He gave the door a gentle kick, closing it behind them. He bet that Clawhauser's apartment door would barely turn with the same force being applied, it having such rusty hinges. Probably about time the chubby cheetah should have oiled the door, he thought. Nick returned his gaze back front, noticing a rather oversized wooden work desk towering over Judy. It was decorated with delicate pattern carving, supported by four sturdy table legs, which were the equivalent of pillars compared to his rather small rabbit partner. Soft light emanated from the monitors which sat on the table top. Wires hung out from the electronics, bundled neatly together by a couple of black plastic strapping ties, plugged into the power sockets located on the wall adjacent from the table. He worked his way casually around the gigantic desk, observing as Judy hopped onto a huge office chair. She looked back at him, mentally signalling him to join her up the seat. "Come on, Nick. Get up here!"

"You know I cannot jump as high as you could," he complained, gesturing at the large chair in disbelief; it was colossal. "Was this room made for an elephant?"

Judy sighed thoughtfully. "Yeah, about that. It would be a week from now till we get furniture of our sizes; for now, we have to bear with this."

Nick eyed at the chair - How in the world was he going to climb that thing? It's not that hard now is it? As easy as rock climbing, he figured optimistically. Gingerly, he lifted himself on top of one of the chair's legs. It was like climbing a high wall. Standing precariously on the curved surface of the chair leg, he tiptoed as he attempted to reach the edge of the seat with his paws stretched out to his limit. His digits barely scraped the edge. Grunting, he took a risk and jumped from the unstable platform. He caught hold of the seat but yelled desperately as the chair swivelled around from his momentum. Judy lost her balance from the sudden rotation and fell on her rear end. Funny enough, Nick started to recall the time when they swung from the vine to escape from Mister Manchas; it was a similar adrenaline inducing feeling. Putting that horrid memory away, he realized his paws were gradually slipping off the edge. "Pull me up, Carrots! I'm going to slip!"

Judy hastily scrambled to her knees, catching both of Nick's paws just in time. His weight was light enough for her to not plummet to the ground along with him. Mustering all of her strength, she pulled him up the chair. The pair leaned against the chair's backrest, panting heavily in exhaustion. Nick was clutching his chest once again, recollecting himself.

"This... is why... I do not... like to be on roller coasters," he exclaimed as he took in a deep breath. "I really dislike adrenaline flowing through my body."

"Well, sorry to inform you but we might have to do this for the remaining seven days," Judy muttered as she looked at him.

"The whole idea of the cruiser being a lounge seems very promising now," Nick panted, setting himself up properly on the seat. "At least for the next seven days, it will be," He added flatly.

"I can see why that is the case," Judy replied.

"Chief should really give us a pay raise for all this additional effort we are putting in," Nick said, locking eyes with her. "The things we "Not-so-large" animals do for "Too-darn-large" situations."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


 

 


	8. Doughnut Disaster 7

"Are you kidding me? This is way too big for a rabbit!" Nick chided in shock when he noticed the elephant sized keyboard. He held out his left paw over of the arrow keys, comparing the obvious size difference. "These buttons are almost as big as my paw!"

Judy eyeballed the sizable keyboard in surprise. "Okay, Chief did say that the equipment might be out of scale but I certainly did not expect this. Not to mention the computer mouse is half my size."

Nick smirked at her comment as he pictured her awkwardly shifting the cursor on the screen by pushing the giant mouse around the table's surface and attempting to type words by jumping on the buttons. It was always very interesting and notably captivating every time he watched Judy perform makeshift stunts to accomplish such minor activities that are too big for her small frame. Not implying that Nick had never done something similar as well, but he was sure that she had to do things like these way more than he had to. Besides, he was a head and a half taller than the bunny anyway. His observation was cut short when he noticed her staring at him impatiently. "Sorry, Whiskers. Was thinking of something; what do you need me for?"

"Did you really miss out what I just said?" Judy exclaimed in disbelief, letting out a quick sigh afterwards. "I, need you, to help me to type as I move the cursor." She repeated.

"On it, Hopps," Nick noted, lacing his digits together, flexing them with his arms outstretched in front of himself. He gingerly rapped his fingers in the air above the keys. He wondered how much strength was needed to push these buttons; hopefully, they are not spring loaded and rusty, because that would mean a lot of raw force. After all, he never touched the gym in his lifetime. He was fit and healthy, but not hulking and beefy like the glamorous tiger dancers in Gazelle's live concerts. He realised he had overestimated his physical capabilities that one time when he desperately tried to separate the rams from attacking Judy. Perhaps he should consider working out for the sake of protecting himself and Judy, Nick thought. Not all intense like those crazed gym fanatics, but enough to make a difference. Looking back at Judy, he gave her the thumbs up. "Ready for action, Carrots. You have control of the cursor, you lead the way."

It took a bit of effort to use the computer, especially on Judy's side. Because of the positioning of the mouse, Judy could barely see where the cursor was moving to on the screen. Nick having the perfect front view of the monitor had to guide her through after she informed him of the folders that needed clicking. Teamwork was the crucial part of the plan and they were glad that they synchronized well as partners. As for the typing, Nick swore that the keyboard felt like an aged typewriter. It required him to utilize his limited strength to push down a single key. It clicked loudly as he pressed down. And being an enormous keyboard, some keys needed him to stretch his whole body to reach them. Typing the sixteen character password took him almost a minute. Maybe he could get fitter just by doing this alone, he thought to himself.

"Alright, final step; you need to type in this thirty-two character serial code to access the traffic cameras. Hang in there, Nick!" Judy laughed pitifully at Nick as she read from the hefty manual. His ears shot up from hearing what she said, eyes opened wide in disbelief. His arm muscles were already aching from typing "ZPD traffic cameras" in the search bar.

"Are you serious? My arms will fall off!" Nick complained, snatching the instructions from her paw, scanning through the lines, only to groan painfully when he found out that she was not pulling his leg. "Seriously, I am going to become handicapped."

Judy chuckled at Nick's exasperation. "Fine, I will help you. Let's do this together," She reassured him. Pulling away from the mouse, she skipped to the keyboard. "You do the odd letters, I will do the evens."

Even with Judy helping him with half the load, Nick felt as though his muscles were about to snap each time he pushed down hard on a key. His arms were on fire, his nerves screaming in agony. The constant stretching over the keyboard to reach for far off buttons made Nick's whole body uncomfortable. He had broken into a shivering cold sweat even though the office was air conditioned. He readjusted his tie, allowing the cold air to revitalize his sweaty neck. Meanwhile, Judy stomped hard on top of the keys; She had to kick the button with both legs as she lands on it else the key would not budge from her light weight. They were only halfway through the serial number and he was craving for a lie-down. But he pushed himself to continue; now it was not a test of strength but of willpower. After what seems like an eternity of extreme button pressing, he smacked his head down on the keyboard; His tongue lolling outside his mouth, panting from severe exhaustion. The effects of sending his body into overdrive were starting to hit him like vehicles running over an unnoticed roadkill on a busy highway.

"All... up to you now Judy," Nick muttered, face still resting on the keyboard. He was melting on the inside. "I think I can see Mr. Big's grandmamma. Tell him that I am going to say hello to her."

"I seriously wonder how did you pass the ZPD's officer training programme," Judy asked as she observed Nick slowly slipping from the keyboard like a drunkard, plopping himself on the cushioned seat. "Well then, I guess I would do the tracking instead."

"You go do that, Carrots, I will just... rest for a moment," Nick replied, barely audible as he spoke into the seat. He had his arms folded into his body, massaging the aching muscles with his paws. "And about the programme, it's a long story."

The monitor displayed sixteen equally sized camera viewports, four on each row and column. A couple of them were only in grayscale and one was an infrared camera. All were scanning different parts of Zootopia. There is a timer at the top left corner of every viewport, accompanied with the date of the recording. Judy hopped down from the table back on the chair, retrieving the rolled up case folder from an almost "dead" Nick's back pocket. The fox remained unfazed, still tending to his sore body whilst cradled in a foetal position. "Now let's see... Aspen street, near Ducking Doughnuts outlet and at around 8:20 a.m."

Nick shifted his gaze at Judy as she manoeuvred the mouse by herself, constantly switching back and forth to the monitor screen to check the cursor's position. He was amazed at how she did not show any signs of tiredness yet. She must have trained a lot, no wonder she topped her class. He watched as Judy slowly typed out the street name, outlet name and the time into the respective search bars key by key. Just simply looking at the effort she had to exert on the buttons individually made his muscles feel like as though he was pressing on them again. Yup, definitely needing a workout, you lazy fox, he told himself mentally. Judy in the meantime was rewinding and forwarding the video cameras that pan near the target street with the trusty, yet large as well remote controller. It took a few tries and readjusting before they could see Clawhauser happily hopping across the traffic junction.

"There he is! Now to source out the culprit..." Judy exclaimed with anxiety, her vision glued to the bright LCD screen display. Nick propped himself upright, his undying curiosity overpowering his fatigue. It was one of his most prominent habits - things that caught his interest would never be ignored. Which was probably how he managed to know of everyone in Zootopia. Judy had cropped out the portion of the timeline and set it through a continuous loop, showing Clawhauser crossing the road amongst a dense crowd. Everybody was packed so tightly that they all seemed to be brushing against the cheetah. "This is going to take some time," she noted.

Nick's sharp eyes darted throughout the crowd on the monitor screen. He had skimmed through photographs before when he was a con artist back in the days. Every single detail was captured in mere seconds. Photographic memory was something he possessed even when he was just a kit. His impeccably fast memorizing had proved useful at the young age. Nick had belonged to a poor family of three. He lived mostly with his mother but his father always came back late from his unofficial "work" outside. Foxes were heavily discriminated back then that no one even wanted to hire them. Wanting to help out with his family's economy, he was determined to join the Junior Ranger Scouts just to be certified as a Senior Scout; which came with a lump sum of money as a reward during promotion day. But to be able to join, he was required to know the very basics of the Scout's code. His mother, Mrs. Wilde, was only capable of scraping up enough savings to purchase a second hand attire from a desperate broker; but did not have the buck to get him the scouts’ manual in the bookstore. Still not giving up on that strand of hope, he paid a visit to the bookstore and flipped through the manual, taking in as many details as he could memorize in one go before being chased out by the shopkeeper. He would repeat it with other bookstores around the vicinity till he was confident and capable of reciting the whole manual in his mind. Those were the tough times in his childhood, and he could never forget about it. Nick shook his head, clearing his clouded mind as he restudied the video once again. This time, something caught his eye.

"Stop it right there!" Nick blurted out loud, making Judy flinch in place. She hurriedly paused the video and slowly rewound the recording. "Pause! There we go," he said as she stopped the camera once again.

"Is that a Hyena?" Judy asked, squinting her eyes as she tried to guess from the blur of brown-yellowish pixels which overlapped Clawhauser's legs. The suspect was moving so quickly that the low-quality traffic camera was only able to capture its essence of movement.

"No doubt, the tickets disappeared as soon as _he_ left," Nick replied.

"It's a _male_?" Judy inquired sceptically as she went closer to the screen for a "better" view. "How do you tell apart a male from a female with a bunch of blurred pixels on the screen?"

"Don't question it, Hopscotch," Nick answered offhandedly, putting on his half-lidded gaze to hide his pride. "I know this guy. It's Nat, the hyena. He is known for his pickpocket habits. He only steals valuable things which he would sell to potential clients in the black sheep market. Given that it is evening, it is possible he has gathered a few willing buyers. We would have to sneak inside the market to spy on him for details of the rendezvous location."

"How are you so _well informed_ of all these illegal organizations?” Judy exclaimed in surprise.

"As I said, I know everybody. Do not question my knowledge for stuff. All you have to know is that I did nothing illegal that could put me in jail, Carrots." Nick said as he slumped down back onto the seat once more, exhaustion flooding through his body again, taking over as the drive from his curiosity died down. "Now could we get some rest? I really need some..."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


 

 


	9. Doughnut Disaster 8

The early rays of sunlight peeked through the half opened blinds of the office window, painting strips of gold on Nick's face; One of them masking perfectly over his eyelids. The disturbed fox mumbled in discomfort from the bright light, instinctively shading his eyes with an arm. But doing that placed him in an awkward sleeping position. Groaning a little louder, this time, he rolled his body over to the other side, which was inhabited by completely nothing but air. Nick let out a surprised yelp as he fell, landing face first on the navy blue carpeted floor with a gruesome thud.

"Owww, my muzzle!" Nick cried out in pain, paws reached out immediately to his face, massaging his muzzle. Apparently he had fallen from an enormous office chair. Why in the world was he sleeping on a ridiculously large chair? He thought to himself. Oh, right, the traffic cameras... Judy's oversized office. One paw still tending his bruised snout, he retrieved his phone to check the time. It was six in the morning. "Why do I _always_ get injured...? Maybe I should start applying for health insurances now that I am being paid a fixed salary," he muttered, annoyed that it was already the second bruise he had collected since yesterday. The previous one was not even done recovering yet and now he had obtained another.

"Nick? You all right? That's quite a fall," Judy exclaimed worriedly as her head peered precariously over the edge of the chair's seat. She was awake as soon as she heard Nick land hard on the ground. "I heard a loud thud, does it hurt?"

"I'm okay, next time remind me not to fall asleep on a giant piece of furniture," Nick said as he smacked his lips and bared his teeth, using his tongue to check for any injuries in his muzzle. Luckily, there were none. "I have yet to tackle my first criminal but here I am, slowly killing myself," he added solemnly, earning a giggle from her. Nick stretched himself, relieving the knots which accumulated in his body overnight. He half frowned, still feeling the tension and soreness in his arm and back muscles from yesterday's "exercises". Rubbing his drowsy eyes, he turned to face the rabbit. Judy had already hopped off the chair and was walking in his direction.

"I will try to next time," Judy replied, peeling a strand of loose string which had attached itself onto Nick's arm. "You really are a klutz, you know that."

"Hey, I am pretty sure I am not _that_ clumsy," Nick said with a smirk. "I do not think that slipping off the car seat from an _unannounced_ emergency break and falling off a high chair when my body is _half dead_ from heavy labour are _accountable_ for being called as a klutz."

"And I would not count pressing keys on a keyboard as _heavy_ labour," Judy chuckled as she eyed him condescendingly. "Speaking of which, how are we supposed to infiltrate the black sheep market? I am certain they do not have a welcome policy for police officers."

"We will perform our espionage during night time," Nick answered, ironing his wrinkled uniform with his paws. "Entering the market would be a piece of cake. We just need to disguise ourselves."

Judy placed her paws on her hips, sceptical of his plan. "And where are we going to find such wonderful disguises?"

"Leave it to me."

 

It was nearly ten in the late hours of night time when the pair arrived at the outer perimeters of the presumed market. To avoid detection, they had parked their police cruiser several blocks away and travelled the rest of the journey by foot. They hid behind a turquoise dumpster, watching as several black sedans rode past them.

"Are you sure about this?" Judy hissed at Nick. She was suited in a tuxedo and so was the fox beside her. Apparently Nick had managed to get his hands on two fancy and visibly costly suits to wear as a disguise. She had earlier tried to pry him of how he got his paws onto such high-class fashion wear but the only answer he could provide was that he asked for Finnick's help. She shifted uncomfortably in her spot. "I feel rather out of place."

"It will be fine! Just follow my lead," Nick spoke softly, observing through the wired fence as the sedans drove into the narrow alleyway in a single file. Seconds after the last car entered, an elephant clad in formal business attire stepped out, scanned the surroundings for a good period of time before heading back inside, accompanied by the sound of a heavy metal gate being pulled shut.

"We will enter through that same passage, hopefully, the guard would not recognize me," Nick whispered, tightening his bow tie. He looked undeniably smart wearing the tuxedo. "If he does, your _elephant_ tranquilizer would come into handy, Carrots."

"Didn't I already explained to you that I shot you on _purpose,_ " Judy remarked.

"Which is why I will always bring it up every so often, Officer Toot Toot," Nick replied heedlessly, pulling out a festival mask from his pant pocket. It was composed of mainly purple and white, the two solid colours separated by a horizontal cut through the centre. The edges were trimmed with an intricate gold braiding, patterned with silver. Judy took out her own mask as well; it was similar to Nick's one design wise with additional decorations but was a bold vermillion instead of a royal indigo. Even though Nick had the mask covering his face, he still looked like the same old fox in front of her. No way was he getting through that security guard scot free.

"Why do I feel that we would have to resort to the dart gun," Judy exclaimed, unsatisfied.

"Well, we would not know until we have tried, right?" Nick said, topping his tuxedo with a delicate rose. Judy stared at the flower. "What?"

"Where did you get that from?" Judy asked, strapping on her mask.

"Passed by Emmet's boutique when I was decked out in this fine suit, he offered me one to compliment my tuxedo as thanks," Nick answered with a smirk on his face. "Like it?"

"Never imagined a fox like you to have a glint of fashion sense," Judy noted sarcastically.

"Try being extremely poor first, then share with me as to how you are still shopping for fashionable clothing," Nick retorted.

"Fair enough," Judy replied, the pair retreating behind the foul smelling dumpster once more as an off-white limousine drove out of the entrance. Nick kept watch as the expensive car exited the premise. Positive that the coast was clear, he gave her the signal. Carefully, they made their way towards the alley. With every step she took, Judy could not shrug off the feeling that they were being watched. The ominous aura dampened the air as they inched closer towards the entrance. The elephant stepped out, stopping them dead in their tracks. Thankfully, they were masked by the dark of night that their distinctive features were hidden. The guard eyed the both of them sternly. Judy's disguise seemed to have proved its worth but as for Nick, the elephant squinted his eyes in suspicion when he scrutinized the fox.

"You look darn familiar, step into the light, would you?" the guard demanded, gesturing a finger at the area underneath a working lamppost. Nick gulped hard.

"You see, I am allergic to bright light sources. Are there any other methods that I could prove my identity?" Nick requested kindly.

"Well, actually yes, there is... wait a minute! You sound very familiar as well! Now who might _you_ be?" The elephant exclaimed, this time forcefully grabbing onto the collar of Nick's tuxedo, dragging him under the light source. The guard frowned when he stripped the mask off Nick. "Nicholas Wilde. My, would the boss be happy to beat you up with baseball bats when I send you to him."

"Carrots!" Nick shouted desperately for help, struggling to remove his collar from the elephant's grip as he kicked aimlessly in the air. Judy hastily reached for her tranquilizer. Taking aim from a short distance, she darted the elephant in the abdomen.

"Tranquilizer? You brought... a... dart gun?" The guard's body gradually became limp, slurred words escaped his mouth as he sprawled messily onto the floor, releasing Nick from his firm grasp. Judy gave the elephant two more darts just to make sure that he would not be waking anytime soon.

"That... was a very close call," Nick noted sheepishly, shaken from the incident. He pulled his shirt down and straightened his jacket. "Cannot get through security with disguise; got it. As for now, how do we hide this big guy?"

"Beats me," Judy replied. They had obviously not taken into account about darting such a large animal out in the open. Nick made his way back to the dumpster. Taking a deep breath, he opened the cover and scavenged through the rubbish. His ears perked up as an idea struck him. Retrieving a banana peel from the stinking pile of garbage, he sauntered back over to the unconscious guard and placed the rotten piece of fruit on the elephant's head.

"Looks like Dumbo here tripped on a slippery banana peel on a winter night, seems about fitting," Nick mused as he evaluated the sleeping animal like a piece of priceless art in a gallery.

"Sometimes you are a genius at solving problems, but this..." Judy exclaimed with uncertainty as she scratched her chin. "Would they believe in such a thing being possible?"

"Well, got a better plan, Whiskers?" Nick inquired, arms wide open for suggestions.

"Just... make sure to wash your hands thoroughly once we get inside," Judy said dismissively as she looked at his dirtied paws in disgust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	10. Doughnut Disaster 9

"You got that right, Carrots, I guess the washroom is priority number one for now," Nick said to Judy as he studied his rubbish dipped paws.

The soft auburn fur was now a shade darker, damp from garbage juice and tiny chunks of leftover rotten food were stuck in between his digits; a result of digging both paws into a packed full, industrial sized dumpster. His nostrils flared instinctively from the pungent odour which lingered on them. Not helpful at all when he has an amplified sense of smell like his canine cousins. Nick held his paws away from himself for a clean supply of fresh air as he tagged alongside Judy, entering the illegal market through the opened gates. A one-way road extended forward, its sides blocked off by tightly packed townhouses, the cement layered pavement fading into a pitch blackness, its end hidden from sight. But that was only for Judy's case - Nick had perfect night vision. He smirked as she squinted her eyes. "Let's play a game to loosen up shall we?"

"Nick! Now is definitely not the time for games!" Judy hissed back, scanning her surroundings once again.

"I spy with my little eye, something... black," Nick commented, wheezing laughingly as he gave her a strong pat on the back, making the bunny jerk forward from the push. Judy was perplexed at first but frowned in disbelief when she finally got the joke, which only made Nick blurt out a muffled snort, trying hard not to guffaw in the midst of their espionage mission.

"Oh, how I wish I can see clearly in the dark, my, would it be useful!" Judy exclaimed sarcastically in loud whispers, facing him as her glinting purple eyes fixed at the snorting fox in front; keeping a stern glare on his scrunched up face. She eyed him incredulously. "This is serious, Nick!"

"Alright, alright. I will zip up and stop goofing, better?" Nick answered with a smile, clearing his throat. "Just hold on to my paw and I will take you to the market."

It was a relatively short one-minute brisk walk in the total darkness alongside Nick till Judy was able to see things covered in light once again. It was still dimly lit, but it was gradually getting brighter as they proceeded forward. She was certainly glad that Nick was capable of night vision. Maybe that was why predators were favorited over prey as police officers as they possess natural, built-in abilities which are useful for tracking down criminals. Prey animals do exist in the ZPD before she was anointed as an officer, but it only compromised of Chief Bogo the buffalo, Rhinowitz the rhino and the two elephants Trunkaby and Francine; which are notably large in size. Coming to think of it, Chief Bogo might have just been worried for her safety as a bunny that he placed her as a meter maid. She studied the rows of apartments beside herself and Nick as she walked up a climbing slope. The street was lined with a series of vintage electric lampposts, lit well enough that she could make out the details on the buildings. The townhouses seemed to be inhabited and abandoned, tatooed with multiple layers of badly sprayed on graffiti and tattered paper fliers. The pedestrian pavements were also decorated with countless numbers of distasteful backstreet art. And the road which they were currently walking on was littered with all kinds of junk. They were strolling in the market but strangely enough, nobody could be seen anywhere.

"If we are in the market already, why do I not see anybody?" Judy asked as she kicked away a piece of plastic food wrap from her feet.

"In actual fact, we have yet to arrive at the heart of the market," Nick explained, looking straight out in the distance. "If you had actually arrived here a decade ago, this abandoned part would have been packed full of swindlers and illegal brokers. But that was back when Zootopia is not the utopia you had envisioned it to be on a bumper sticker. It was quite the opposite in fact, where predators did not even stand a slim chance surviving in the city's prejudice. But once Lionheart, a predator, overthrown the previous malicious mayor, he had the laws completely reworked to suit the needs of predators better. He had also established the ZPD in the heart of Zootopia to counter its alarmingly high crime rate. That was before he became corrupted by Bellwether’s evil ploy, such a shame. With that, many minor criminals either quit or were captured; which is why now only a fraction of them still remain in the market. Mr. Big's mafia faction is one of the biggest ones which have yet to be taken down alongside several others. There are still a number of amateurs, newcomers, and minors which frequent the market like Nat and formerly, myself; but I doubt that criminals like him would last long."

"I see..." Judy said, slightly surprised that the city she had adored as a kit had such a corrupted past. She was glad that it had changed for the better before she arrived, even when she finally did there were still hints of unfair prejudice and corruption happening around. She glanced at Nick, who was maintaining a smile from recollecting his past time, one that was of sourness. "Sorry to ask, but what got you into hustling?"

Nick turned and looked into her eyes. "You really want to know?"

Judy was at first hesitant to pry deeper into Nick's past but gave a slight nod after the fox reassured her that he was fine to share his story.

"Its quite a walk there, so I guess this would keep us entertained for the time being," Nick noted and continued forth, kicking a cougar cola branded drink can as he walked. "I had told you of the time I was bullied and muzzled when I was nine right? I made a mess of myself crying outside the school for god knew how long before I simmered down and trudged back home. In the long timespan of three years after the day I was mortified by prejudice, many bad things happened. It was a year after the incident; I had recovered from the fears of bullying and was living quite peacefully with my mother when we realized that Dad went missing. Sure, he had always been known for returning home late, but we were pretty sure that something was awfully wrong when a whole three days had passed and he never made an appearance. Worried, we set out searching throughout the entire city but to no avail. That was when my mother gave up on seeking for him and spent the next few weeks tearing up and excessively praying for his sake. If the two of us could not find Dad, no one could. The ZPD did not exist back then. Ask for help? No one in the world would help a bunch of foxes. Other predators had their own life problems to settle that all they could offer was a prayer."

"Sorry to make you remember that Nick," Judy apologized, starting to regret her decision as she had made him re-picture his sad, sorrowful moments in life.

"All is well, you don't have to be sorry. Besides, I could barely remember how he was like or looked like anyway. Accepting that Dad was gone from existence, someone had to take on the job as the family's sole breadwinner. My mother set out to look for a job; it took many days of applying across multiple odd jobs which were all denied almost immediately but finally, one was approved. She took the opportunity out of sheer desperation. It required heavy labour; She always came home with blisters on her paws and straining backaches, not to mention severe exhaustion. But she did not care about that, she was determined to put me through my education. It pained me to see my mother suffer for the sake of my living for the next two gritty years. That was when she finally collapsed. I came home from school that one fateful day to find her unconscious on the floor and burning from a high fever, which I then decided to quit schooling. No way was I going to lose both my father and my mother at this rate. Besides, I had to get medication for her. My first attempt at crime was stealing medicine from the doctors'. Blacklisted as a thief, I knew that there was no going back then. One petty crime led to another, most of the time stealing medication to aid my mother's recovery and food from the grocery. I was desperate, and this was the only plausible method which I could obtain what I needed. I spent the rest of the years learning the ways of crime.

Eight years later, Zootopia changed for the better. Many were arrested and many quitted their wrongful jobs, but I remained. I could never trust the city and would never will. Playing smart, I decided to be a con artist. I perform my signature hustles on a daily basis but made sure that every single one of them which I carried out was "legal" in a sense such that the newly enforced police would have nothing on me. I met Finnick along the way and we were partners for roughly ten years till now and still going strong. But my life was turned around after I met you," Nick smiled as he concluded his story, now a smile of gratitude. "I had formerly despised you as you reminded me of my former self; oblivious to the cruel side of the city and it's despicable prejudice against predators, but you proved to be my ever first trustable stranger and a close friend. Not to mention that ironically bunnies had the most hatred against us foxes. And I could not thank you enough for helping me get back on the right track, Carrots. Without your appearance in my disastrous life, I doubt I would have ever changed my perspective of this world and begin rebuilding my trust for the city."

"It's nothing, I would not be that great of a bunny cop without your aid as well. I was mentally driven into thinking that it was a perfect city, but boy was I wrong when you opened my eyes to see reality," Judy replied, returning the smile. Back inside of her mind she wondered if she would ever do the same as Nick if faced with the exact same situations. Judy felt that she would most likely simply break down and gave up on hope. Her thoughts cleared up when she started noticing small silhouettes of many animals appearing one by one in the distance as they walked. "Is that the heart of the market you mentioned about?"

Nick shifted his gaze back in front. "Yep, that's the market alright. Sure does bring back memories, countless and countless of them."

 

 

 

 


	11. Doughnut Disaster 10

As the pair approached the heart of the illegal-trade market, the layered conglomeration of chattering and persistent auctioning became more and more audible. They had passed by one or two isolated mammals which had stationed themselves a fair distance away from the crowds of unlawful clients and buyers, which were populating the entire centre of the parade square. Townhouses surrounded the circumference of the market, providing no evident gaps for the outside world to peek into. It was encased strictly like a high-security prison, designed specifically so that nobody who knew of this place would ever find it out of plain coincidence.

"You know, you could let go of my paw already, Carrots," Nick muttered out as they stepped foot into the busy crowd. He looked down at his paw awkwardly. "It's no longer dark, and besides... my... paws are kind of, you know..."

Judy cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Kind of what...?"

Nick glared at her in surprise. Apparently the lengthy story telling had made Judy forget about the incident that took place mere minutes ago. He tried again, this time throwing in an obvious hint. "Like... remember the banana peel?"

"Banana peel? What do you mean- oh... Oh!" Judy exclaimed loudly, retracting her paw off of Nick's in realization. She scrutinized her paw like an alienated object. Being unhygienic was one of her biggest pet peeves. Handling agriculture back in bunny burrows surely got her covered in dirt from the farmlands and stinking plant fertilizer but paws which have been in a dumpster filled with all kinds of rotten junk was the exact opposite of sterile. She frowned at the fox. "Nick! Why did you not tell me that _earlier?_ Gross!"

"Well, we had to as you cannot see in the dark and you did not complain when I offered my dirtied paw either, so I _assumed_ that you knew what you were doing," Nick answered innocently.

"If you knew that, you could have told me to... to grab onto your sleeve or something!" Judy cried out, instinctively searching her pockets for her napkin. The devastated rabbit groaned immediately after she realized that she was not dressed in her usual ZPD attire. She let out an irritated sigh. "The mouldy doughnut was already too disgusting to tolerate, and now this!"

Nick smirked. "Well, you are in luck, Whiskers, as I do know where the washrooms are located," he replied diligently as he cupped both of his paws together.

"Where is it then?" Judy inquired impatiently, itching badly to get her paw cleaned.

"As usual, follow my lead," Nick answered casually, signalling a paw as he made his way towards one of the townhouses. Judy tagged closely behind him, still wary that eyes of unseen strangers were aimed at them like a dangerous gun to the face in a game of Russian roulette. She felt like an outsider entering a bustling saloon in the Wild West; a single rookie outnumbered by the masses. Judy studied her fox partner sauntering in front of her - He appeared to be unfazed and seemingly placid despite the obviously uncanny mood which was heavy in the bone-chilling air. Somehow, seeing Nick in his usual lazy demeanour calmed her nerves. It made her feel that she was safe from danger when he's with her. She shuddered as a bitingly cold breeze brushed past her. Tundra town was certainly a place not suitable for bunnies.

Approaching the stairs of the townhouse, Nick climbed up the first step before turning back to Judy. "Over here, health inspector, your saviour is right inside this building ready for you," he pointed towards a series of sinks which were lined up against the outer walls of the washrooms. "Complimentary toilets included as well if you are experiencing high tides."

Judy quickly ran up the steps and made a break for the sinks. Nick chuckled as he walked up the steps after her, closing the door gingerly with his feet before joining Judy at the marbled counter. She was hurriedly dispensing a good amount of paw soap as he halted beside her. He examined both of his paws. "Hey, Carrots."

"What?" Judy was busy rubbing the sweet scented gel all over her right paw.

"Mind if you could help me to get some soap onto my paws? I do not want to dirty the soap dispenser; you know what I mean," Nick exclaimed.

"Oh, thought you liked it _dirty,_ " Judy said condescendingly, shaking the water off of her paws before assisting Nick in dispensing the soap. She eyed him with a half-lidded smile, impersonating the fox's favourite expression. "Did not know that you had a spot for staying clean, Slick Nick."

"I could choose not to wash them, but you would have to pay for my medical fees if I fall sick after this due to months old bacteria incubating on my paws," Nick answered back as he began to scrub his paws with strawberry scented soap, encasing them in a pinkish, off-white foam. Nick made sure that every part of his paws were rubbed twice over, ridding of any unwanted germs that were seeking refuge underneath his soft auburn fur; Which took Judy by surprise as she honestly thought that he would simply do a quick rinse rather than a full paw-wash. Nick tore a piece of toilet paper from the nearby tissue roll and proceeded to dab his paws dry. He returned his glance towards Judy and smirked slyly. "What? Did you honestly think that I never practice hygiene before we first met?"

Judy nodded knowingly. "Yep, you were clad in never ironed, weeks unwashed clothing and reeked of an old apartment that needed serious dusting the first time I approached you; Totally staying sanitized," She noted as a matter of fact, prodding at Nick's smart tuxedo accusingly as though he was wearing his usual green Hawaiian tee instead. Nick's ears perked forward, mildly taken aback from her claim. The fox quickly regained his calm composure.

"You sure have quite a good sense of smell, I am amused Detective Hopps," Nick chuckled as they made their way to the exit. "Signing the contract as your partner in crime fighting was certainly worth it; maybe you could try hustling other animals in the streets, Carrots."

Judy gave him a playful scowl. "Never in my life, dumb fox; would no police officer commit such shameful act."

"Aw, come on Whiskers, you should practice a little for my sake... and besides, you are going to be the next Godmother," Nick joked along, bending his knees and leaning forward to level himself with her height. "You do make a cute Godmother, you know. Maybe you would gain some bushy eyebrows, develop a strong accent and start to ice animals into jumbo pops, who knows."

"Hey, that is rude to use Mr. Big as a stereotype!" Judy shot back at the fox, who heedlessly dismissed her complaint with his signature con artist smirk. She stared into Nick's eyes, annoyed that he was enjoying her little fit of anger. Sometimes she could barely tolerate his cheekiness and immatureness; in addition to his usual fare of impeccable sarcasm. But that was also something she adored in him at the same time. A few times he had made her throw frustrated punches and jabs into his stomach whilst most of the times she would appreciate his unique sense of humour and share a laugh or two. Judy's frown slowly disappeared into a slight smile. "Sometimes I really do not know how to properly deal with you, Nick," She said, hopping off the steps, shifting her gaze to the ground as a precaution to not trip and fall. "So, now that we are all clear from bacteria, how do we find this Nat hyena? ...Nick?"

"Shh, sh... look," The fox pointed a thumb at a figure which was under the dim limelight of a street lamp. With it accompanied another figure, way taller than the previous one which it was conversing with. The light from the lamp was bright enough for them to distinguish the features of the two silhouettes. One was a leanly built hyena - presumably Nat; whilst the other appeared to be a lanky giraffe. "That is our culprit right there and looks like he has found a buyer," he muttered, ears folding back as he kept watch on the hyena.

"Are you able to hear what they are saying from here?" Nick added, looking at Judy like as if she was a beacon of hope of a passenger ship lost in a swirling storm out at sea. If the bunny cop's fantastic hearing was capable of picking up what the pair were saying, they would be able to save a lot of unwanted trouble.

Judy shook her head disappointedly. "The crowd between us and them is way too loud for me to catch whatever they are planning. We have to get closer."

"Boy, and I thought I was in for a treat, eh?" Nick mumbled solemnly. He searched the surroundings for an ideal place to eavesdrop. His gaze shifted towards the rows of chairs which many were taken by avid black market bidders. "How about the very back seats of the auction hall? Will you be able to hear them there?" Nick asked.

"Hm, that should be close enough," Judy said as she brought her attention to the last row of unoccupied seats.

Pulling their masks on, the pair stealthily made their way towards the chairs whilst maintaining inconspicuous in the eyes of the animals they passed by. Judy made sure to keep herself closely to Nick as he cleared a path forward; the last problem they needed on their list was them to get separated by the viciously jostling crowd. It took a moment of navigating through the maze of animals before they arrived at their designated seats. Judy took the seat which was closer to their target whilst Nick sat on the chair beside her. She could have sworn that Nick whispered something about the chairs thankfully not being elephant sized as he sat down. Judy snapped back into focus, ears pointed upwards and facing towards the hyena and giraffe duo like elongated satellite dishes.

"... Four grand, that enough for you?" A low pitched voice asked, supposedly the giraffe buyer.

"Five grand. I could not stress this enough that it is the _last ticket_ that has yet to be redeemed! It would be pricier than that," A high pitched Nat demanded. The giraffe grunted in irritation before she was met with a long moment of silence, probably considering the deal.

"Fine. I will pay five grand." The giraffe offered, earning a chuckle from Nat. "Where shall we meet up?"

"55 Moosevelt Street, inside Snarl bucks cafe tomorrow at noon sharp. If I see anyone else tagging with you, the deals over, got it?" Nat whispered secretively. Judy had to lean out from her seat in order to hear what Nat said as the he was barely audible. Affirmative that she had the right information, Judy turned back to Nick, who was patiently waiting by browsing through his phone screen.

"I have got their rendezvous location, time to nab our criminal!" Judy whispered softly into Nick's ear. Nick grinned from the valuable Intel as he slipped his phone back into his jacket's pocket.

"You sure have a superb sense of hearing, you know that," Nick praised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	12. Doughnut Disaster 11

Judy and Nick exited the Black Sheep market in quick strides. They had to hurry as the time borrowed from the tranquilizer darts was nearly spent. If the hulking elephant regains consciousness, he would immediately sound the alarm. There is no doubt that the place would switch into full lockdown once it goes off. After all, they had blown their cover by assaulting the night guard. The pair scampered through the streets, avoided traversing through the snow covers which had carpeted the slippery ground in patches of white; So as to minimize the chances of the market's hired guns from tracking them down via their paw prints. It was not until they had turned past a corner, placing them behind a set of usual civilian buildings that Judy stopped holding her breath. Her mind was screaming in anxiety the whole time as she stuck extremely close to Nick, which did not help when she noticed that he was also not his usual laid-back self. Briskly walking down the scarcely populated street, Judy thanked the heavens when their police cruiser came into view. Nick let out a nervous soft chuckle as he slowed down his pace to a casual stroll, alleviating himself from the piling tension.

"That was _way_ too close for comfort," Judy spoke in relief, unlocking the car doors with her keys.

"You can say that again," Nick agreed, entering the vehicle. "I for one did not expect the Elephant crime organization taking over the Black Market. It used to be under the Sheep faction... I guess they lost the animals' trust and had to step down. Some of their thugs namely the three we have encountered before were hired by _Bellwether_ as her personal goons through unknown means of negotiation."

"Wait... You mean Doug, Woolter and Jesse were formerly from an illegal organization and not her assistants in crime?" Judy exclaimed in surprise; bewildered as she had not heard this information anywhere. "How did you know about this, Nick?"

"If you were not busy handling another petty case days after they were caught, you would not have missed out on all these tiny little details when Bogo was interrogating them; it was quite a show I must admit," Nick explained, shrugging his shoulders. He smirked as Judy blinked at him like a deer that was about to become roadkill. Why was she so excited to tackle another case mere days after the arrestment of the assistant mayor? Judy then proceeded to knock her forehead onto the steering wheel, dissatisfied that she was dumb enough to be absent during such an important event.

"I cannot believe that I missed such a crucial event! Ugh..." Judy grumbled in frustration.

"Careful now, do not want that car horn to start bleating away," Nick warned as Judy repeatedly hammered her forehead against the rim. He whipped out his smartphone. "Do not fret about it, Whiskers, I will notify you the next time something urgent happens," Nick waved the phone in his paw. Judy immediately turned to face him.

"You would do that for me?" Judy asked.

"Anything that keeps you happy, Carrots," Nick replied as he locked his phone screen.

"Thanks, Nick, I knew I could count on you," she smiled, hugging him around his waist. Nick's eyes widened as he attempted to gently push her off of himself, which did not happen as she had latched onto him in a tight embrace. Even as of now, Nick still could not stand the awkwardness. Throughout his past twenty years, nobody ever got that close to him except for his parents. But right now, he has a bunny partner as a companion. He could not recall the exact number of times she had wrapped herself around him like what she was doing currently; It was way too many times for him to remember. She had bombarded him even when he was taking a selfie to update his Furbook profile. "Now now, you are not a magnet. And besides, don't we have to update someone on the case?"

"Oh, sorry," Judy apologized with a smile and returned to the driver's seat.

 

It was almost noon. The afternoon sun was beaming in its prime, covering the entire city full of light and its sundering heat. The pair had situated themselves in the fashion store opposite the cafe across the street. Judy observed the cafe through the clear glass windows of the store. She had spotted Nat who was seated at one of the far end tables, impatiently waiting for the giraffe to arrive with the cash. Judy glanced back at Nick, who was apparently browsing through a printed catalogue loaded with heaps of fashionwear, hot deals, and attractive discounts.

"It's almost time Nick! How do we do this?" Judy inquired, signalling for Nick to come.

"I think I found something in here which looks splendid on you," Nick mused, flipping through the thin pages of the rather thick booklet. "So many uniquely fashionable products, no wonder it stretches out to four storeys."

"Nick!" Judy hissed.

"Alright, no reason to be mad Officer Hopps," Nick smirked as he closed the catalogue in his paw. He studied the scene outside. "It is pretty straightforward. The cafe has only two entrances, one for customers and the other to access via the kitchen," he noted.

Nick then pointed at the hyena. "And as you can see, Nat has dumbly chosen the seat furthest from both possible exits subconsciously as he fears that someone is watching him, typical amateur. As soon as the giraffe makes an appearance and enters the cafe, we assume our positions outside the main entrance. When they are in the midst of performing the trade, you rush in with your dart gun while I secure the exit. Taking in the fact that he is new in the line of crime, Nat should start to panic and the only escape route which he would see would be the big glass door which he came in from formerly and not the backdoor via the kitchen. Nat is pretty agile therefore, we must take preventive measures to make sure he does not escape with the tickets in tow; that's where I come in. Even if he does take the kitchen route, manoeuvring past the kitchen crew would slow him down for you to aim properly.  You dart the hyena and if necessary, the giraffe as well. Case secured."

Judy looked at Nick in amazement. His ability to discern a situation within seconds was astounding. She placed a paw on her hip, impressed by his observation. "What are you, a secret agent?"

"Maybe," Nick replied with a proud smirk on his face. He looked out through the window. Just as they were finished wrapping up their plan, the giraffe had arrived right on the dot. Nick smirked. "Hey, time to proceed according to plan. Apparently, Mister long neck has arrived at the scene."

  
As soon as the giraffe entered the cafe, Judy sprinted out of the fashion store. Careful to maintain hidden from sight, she crouched low as she approached the outside of the cafe. Taking a few small steps, Judy rolled into cover behind the cafe's pillar. Nick was not small enough to copy what Judy had done, but he managed to conceal himself behind a nearby car. He watched as the giraffe presented a suitcase in front of the hyena, presumably the money. Thankfully, to them both and Nat, the giraffe appeared to be meeting alone. The last thing that they needed was for a third party to intervene. But before they could commence the busting, Nick had to check if Nat had on his hands the other part of the deal; the redemption coupon for Gazelle's concert tickets and not some phony counterfeit coupon made out of cheap photocopy paper. Luckily for them, Nat was not experienced in the art of conning. He signalled to Judy. Nodding her head briefly, Judy approached the glass door and drew out her tranquilizer.

Here goes nothing, she thought to herself. Taking a deep breath, she kicked the door open.

"This is Officer Hopps from the ZPD! We have got you surrounded! Surrender yourself at once and paws in the air!" Judy shouted, gun aiming right for Nat. She could hear Nick's footsteps behind her, securing the entrance as she closed in on the startled hyena. The giraffe was already too frightened to move, hooves raised up high in compliance.

"You told me you came alone!" Nat snarled.

"I - I did! Y - You attracted the cops! Oh, I am so done for!" The giraffe exclaimed in fear.

"Yeah, right! Like I would believe you!" Nat exclaimed furiously. Scanning the surroundings, the hyena prepared to escape.

As expected based off of Nick's keen judgment, the hyena made a mad dash towards the main entrance. Judy fired at Nat but missed entirely as the hyena was blindingly fast. Nick spread his arms out wide, preventing him from exiting. Not going down without a fight, Nat lashed out at Nick. Nick grabbed hold of Nat's right arm and caught him in an arm lock. It was one of the many common combat moves which all officers had to learn in the academy. Struggling profusely to break free of the fox officer, the hyena desperately clawed at Nick's leg. Despite the pain, Nick kept a firm hold of Nat with all his strength, allowing Judy to finally dart the criminal. The hyena lost consciousness almost instantly. Nick knelt beside Nat and handcuffed him. He glanced over at Judy. Being her typical fast paced self, she had already cuffed the giraffe and was done calling for another unit to receive him. No way would that giraffe's long neck fit into their cruiser.

"This bad boy here sure does put up some resistance," Nick muttered, panting heavily as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He carried the unconscious hyena, wrapping Nat's arm across his back. He trudged slowly towards their police car. Opening the back door, he flung the suspect onto the back seat and closed the door shut. As he turned to face Judy, she was already hopping towards him.

"You know what this means," Judy whispered passionately as she approached Nick.

"The case is solved! _And_...” Nick said as he gestured the tickets in his paw, smirking as usual. "The coupon has been retrieved."

"Nicely done, Nick!" Judy praised in excitement. She could never hide the overwhelming sense of joy that filled her up to the brim every time she solved a case. Does not matter what kind it was, as long as she knew in her heart that she had helped a troubled animal. And now, she has a partner to share her happy moments in crime solving with as well! Feeling accomplished, she smiled back at Nick; but something caught her attention near her sight. That was strange, Nick does not wear red in his police attire. Her smile faded the instant she looked down. Nick's right leg was bleeding. The navy blue pants had claw marks all over and was drenched in fresh blood. Thankfully, the wounds were not deep. Nat certainly did a number on Nick when he was putting up a persistent fight. Judy covered her mouth in worry as she stared at his wounds. "Oh my gosh Nick... you need medical attention right this instant!"

Nick looked down at his leg. The pain hit him like a bullet through glass as soon as he realized his leg was in a pretty bad state. He winced as his leg felt like it was literally on fire. "its fine, Carrots, nothing more than just a scratch," Nick laughed it off sheepishly, even when his inner thoughts were screaming badly for help.

"That is _way worse_ than a simple scratch! It's much worse than the scratch I received back then!" Judy argued in concern as she helped Nick into the cruiser. She hurriedly started the engine. "I am getting you to the hospital first."

 

 

 

 

 

 


	13. Doughnut Disaster 12

The hospital was not what Judy had planned to visit after solving the stolen concert tickets case. It smelt exactly like the air she had breathed when she paid Emmitt a visit in the recovery ward; somewhere along the lines of an old library packed with a heavy medicinal scent. Judy remembered taking a queue number from the hospital's reception desk and having to wait quite a while; sitting with Nick on the waiting chairs before she was called in and diagnosed by a certified doctor to treat her scratch. This time, the situation was the opposite. Nick was the patient now, seated beside her and attempting to distract himself from the constant, pulsating pain induced by the multiple lacerations on his leg. Judy cast a worried side glance at Nick's injuries. She had his wounds wrapped snugly with her flannel jacket to stop the bleeding. It did stop after a while, but not fast enough as a large part of the cloth was dyed a deep red. Hopefully, he is not giddy from the blood loss, she thought. Which was a good sign as Nick displayed no signs of feeling light-headed or drowsiness. Despite there being nothing alarming, Judy was still concerned.

"You okay, Nick?" Judy asked she rested her paw on his lap.

Nick turned to face her. "I am feeling better already, Carrots. Thanks for treating my wounds," he gave Judy an appreciative smile, reassuring the ill at ease bunny. Furthermore, it was supposed to be a joyous moment for them, celebrating their success with Clawhauser and not warming up cold hospital chairs whilst waiting for medical attention.

"You would not be here if I darted Nat earlier," Judy apologized solemnly, slowly swinging her legs as she averted her gaze from him. "You might be right, I really do suck at aiming," she added.

"Hey, what happened to the optimistic, upbeat bunny cop that I know? It is not your fault, stop putting the blame on yourself; you emotional rabbit," Nick chided gently, reaching over to Judy as he comfortingly massaged her shoulder. "Look, I am alive and kicking! Well... maybe not the kicking part, but hey, I am not one paw in the grave, so cheer up!"

Judy turned her head towards Nick, looking at him in the eye. He returned her stare with a smirk plastered on his face. Perhaps Nick was right, maybe she was indeed overreacting; Judy thought to herself as she looked down at herself and considered what Nick had said. She managed a weak smile. "Sorry for being such a sentimental klutz, I cannot help it," Judy answered, laughing softly as she wiped the tears which had welled up in her eyes. "Maybe you do know a thing or two about us bunnies being emotional and all."

Nick chuckled. "That's the spirit!" he said, patting her back before resting his paw on her shoulder once more. "And yes, I have dealt with bunnies before, hard to explain how I came to this conclusion about your species."

"Can you at least provide a gist of what you have experienced? At least that way I can work it out," Judy replied playfully, actually curious about the matter. Nick rubbed his chin with his paw thoughtfully, trying to summarize it in a way that she would understand.

"In short, let's just say that they had many different and unique ways of expressing themselves after they realized that they were hustled by me. It was like watching a reality TV show drama take place live," Nick mused as he studied the analogue wall clock on the wall.

The time displayed was fifteen minutes past midnight. Right beside it was a huge notice board pinned full of health product advertisements and fliers, with the majority of the posters mainly displayed for the sake of instilling health awareness and education into the patients. Though there were usually significantly lesser patients in the queue during such hours, they still had to wait for quite a while since they arrived at the hospital roughly around eleven thirty late at night. The nurses did recognize them being the city's finest ZPD officers when they stepped through the sliding glass doors. The one at the counter even offered to arrange the queue numbers such that they would be the first in line however, Nick had courteously refused the nurse's gratitude. Judy was hesitant about declining the offer but gave in as Nick mentioned that other patients may need the medical help much more than he does.

"Nicholas Wilde?" A soothing accented voice announced, calling out his name. Judy's ears shot right up as they shifted their glances towards the doctor's room, which now had a female tiger's head poking out through the opened door. "Come in please, I shall redress that wound of yours. Sorry for the long wait, it is really kind of you to allow the others to be treated first, Officer."

Fresh music pounded through the air by large concert speakers as disco lights showered the night party in bright vivid colours of the rainbow. A large crowd of many animals raved and danced to the beat, shouting and screaming excitedly at the top of their lungs as they take in the sensational experience. The flamboyant uproar doubled up as the stage lights switched on, encasing the entire platform in its brightness; a beautifully dressed Gazelle making her appearance under the limelight right behind the microphone stand. The celebrity singer flicked her hair back confidently as she took hold of the mic.

"Are you all ready?" Gazelle exclaimed loudly, which was met with a harmonized cheer and shrill whistles from the crowd. "Let's get this party started!"

At the front of the concert, mere meters away from the stage, a group of four animals were busy enjoying the time of their lives; especially the overweight cheetah. He was performing a series of small hops on the spot, paws supporting his chubby cheeks as he squealed in pure excitement. He was literally exploding with astounding elation on the inside.

"O-M-Goodness! This is the best! It really is! Gazelle, in her prime, just in plain sight! Without you guys, it would have only been just a wishful daydream!" Clawhauser shouted in glee, still shaking from the unbelievably close presence of his number one idol.

"That is what friends are for right?" Judy laughed, watching Clawhauser set his eyes lovingly onto Gazelle as the famous pop star began singing. She could tell that he was melting like a marshmallow in hot cocoa, awestruck by Gazelle's impressive vocals. The award-winning singer was simply the best, delivering songs of such finesse and talent. Judy could not agree less; after all, she was also a big fan of her. Now she had the opportunity of seeing her favorite singer perform live up close, all thanks to Clawhauser's fortune. "I could not thank you enough for inviting me, I am never going to forget about this night!"

As the two agitated animal officers were busy gossiping about their favourite vocalist, the other half of the foursome stood behind as they observed the bunny and the cheetah dance. Nick was one of the two, casually nodding his head to the beat of the music. Usually in a lively concert such as this one that he's in, Judy would encourage and nudge the heck out of him to dance along as well. But, the doctor did mention that he should not move or walk around too much, which was a bummer for her. As for him? Well, he could almost count that as a blessing in disguise. In fact, Nick was not proud of his dance moves at all, he had always felt like a vegetable with limbs when he flashed his "moves". However, there was one thing which kept his interest besides the concert. He fished out his phone from his pants pocket and pretended to use it. "You know Chief, there's nothing to be embarrassed about; I know you are a huge fan of Gazelle," Nick said as he swiped the screen with his thumb. The buffalo immediately froze in place.

"H-How did you know that!" Chief Bogo hissed, shocked that even Nick knew of his personal secret.

Nick smirked as he shrugged knowingly. "I could tell from the way you were bobbing to the song and casting occasional glances at Gazelle as well." He kept his phone away as he locked eyes with the chief, who now had a face of complete disbelief. "I mean, it's obvious from the way you were acting, Sir. Just enjoy yourself to the fullest. Besides, wasn't that the sole reason why Clawhauser invited you along? He could have gotten anyone else."

Chief Bogo stared at the fox. Sure, Nick was unbeatable in terms of perceptiveness and discerning situations but the only downfall was that he was way too good at it. Bogo wondered how much personal information the fox would be able to scrape from him within a timeframe of a year; most likely by then Nick would have understood him like the back of his paw. He frowned at the thought of it. "Listen Wilde. Keep all of that to yourself and do not ever mention it to anyone. Got it?" he demanded, sighing. Clawhauser already spreads gossips about him like a virus on steroids; He does not need a second in command to help confirm the rumours.

"Would not tell a single soul, Chief. You have my word," Nick acknowledged, saluting.

"Good. I shall trust you. Now, if you do not mind, I shall go get a drink." Chief Bogo exclaimed, walking into the raving crowd, away from the trio. Not to actually get a drink but more of finding a spot where he could enjoy the concert without animals like Clawhauser interfering. He was craving to dance and express his actual personality.

The concert lasted well past midnight, ending with a blast before dawn arrived. It was a memorable night full of fun and singing. Never did Judy and Nick imagined that solving a case of a stolen doughnut coupon would lead them to the front rows of the greatest concert ever. Perhaps it was a token to congratulate them on their first actual serious case completion; excluding the Night howler felony or Flash the speeding driver. It sparked as the beginning of the many adventures they have yet to come across. And they were ready for the challenges ahead.

 

 

 

 


	14. The Stranger 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richard is your usual, urban city teenager pursuing his education in a neighborhood college. He had seen the movie Zootopia with his classmates but never did he expect to step into the wondrous world of animals after an incident out at a school hosted camp inside the depths of a dense forest. With ample knowledge about their culture and history, Richard tries to live his life in Zootopia till he figures out a way back to his world.

The alarm clock was blaring like an annoying siren. I was fully awake under my warm bed covers before it began its usual purpose. Waking up earlier than the clock was not normal practice for me; I was up with the early morning birds because I knew well that it was going to be an exciting day ahead. Usually, Mom would have to be the manual alarm for me to drag myself off the invitingly comfortable covers. However, this day was meaningful enough for a couch potato like me to be energetic for once. Hyped for the schedule which awaited my duly presence, I gingerly swung my legs off the edge of the bed, slipping my feet into the comfy sky blue bedroom slippers on the floor. I took in a deep breath, attempting to brush off the curtain of drowsiness which had draped heavily on my body from the good night's sleep. It was still tempting to return back to the comfortingly warm embrace of the bed's soft mattress but I mentally forced myself to shrug off the feeling.

As soon as the alarm clock stopped its repetitive beating, the door to my room swung wide open; revealing none other than my mother, ready to take over what the clock had failed to accomplish. She looked at me in surprise before heading back down the stairs, probably back to the kitchen to prepare meals for me and my siblings. Not wanting to be late for the events, I swapped out of my slack pyjamas into my casual wear and rushed down for breakfast. I wasn't one who was into fashion, so I clad myself in my usual plain white tee along with cargo shorts and an unbuttoned checkerboard flannel.

"That must be the first time in years since I did not have to wake you up, Richard," Mom commended in amusement as I took a seat on the kitchen stool, pouring cereal from a box of fruit loops into a bowl on the dining table. "Never in my life would I have thought that you would be so interested in exploring the wilderness. Seems like the school has arranged a camp suited just for your tastes as well," she added, dousing the dry cereal with fresh cream milk from a new carton.

"Blame the wilderness documentaries for that," I replied with a shrug, slightly muffled by the piece of toast which I had hungrily stuffed into my mouth. Crispy French toast was definitely an all-time favourite for me. "They air on the discovery channel every Tuesday to Thursday evening right after I come back from schooling," I spoke again, ignoring the fact that I may have resembled a chipmunk with acorns in its mouth.

"Richard, table manners," Mom reminded knowingly with her back still facing towards me as she prepared breakfast for my two younger siblings; a toddler sister six years old in age and a brother aged nine. I was older than them combined; currently at the golden age for teenagers - Sweet sixteen, as they call it.

"Sorry," I apologized, covering my toast filled mouth with a hand.

Filling my mouth cavity with the remainder of the delicious pan-fried bread, I brought my right arm above the table and shook my wrist watch towards myself. It had been barely ten minutes pass the alarm. I grunted in irritation as I had to reach Newman high school by seven; which surprising to say, I was way too early in my game. It only took a five-minute brisk walk past the local community park to get there and here I was, needlessly racing against time like a complete fool. I sighed mentally, perhaps being almost late for class every morning had drilled the habits of hurrying into my brain. Despite the numerous occasions that I had to rush to my high-school in the early hours of dawn, my attendance was ironically perfect.

Mom noticed me grunting as she swivelled her head sideways, casting a side glance. She smiled as she spoke. "No need to be hasty dear, the camp isn’t going to grow legs and start running away from you." I watched as she poured the smooth pancake batter onto a sizzling hot pan over the stove. "You could always walk to school first and wait it out if you are bored; maybe some of your classmates are there already, who knows," she suggested, carefully spreading the bubbling batter around the non-stick frying pan's surface with a metal ladle. The mouth-watering fragrant smell of the pancakes wafted from the heat as the underside of the batter was cooking. It smelt like heaven to me, yet I did not have the appetite for seconds as I was pretty full from wolfing down my heavy breakfast. Satisfied from the hearty meal, I pushed away from the table and got off the stool, walking past the living room towards the main door.

"If that's the case, then I guess I will be heading to school right now," I said out loudly, competing with the vicious sizzling of the batter as Mom poured in a new swatch onto the pan. The sound was oddly satisfying to hear for reasons unknown to myself.

She turned down the heat of the stove to a small flame as soon she heard me. "Oh, almost forgot. Did you double check the items in your backpack? Not going to be fun if you are missing any camping necessities," Mom advised in concern. She turned around, presenting a clean white apron free of pancake batter. I guess if one had been in the culinary practice for years, the apron is not really needed anymore since they hardly ever stain their clothes while cooking. "And how long is your camp again, sweetie?" she asked.

"Yes Mom, everything is packed inside, I had gone through the checklist thrice already," I answered monotonously as I hefted the bulky camouflage patterned backpack from the floor next to the shoe cabinet. It was about the fifth time since yesterday that both of my parents told me to recheck the list of required camping equipment. I could not really blame them since they were mainly worried for my safety, which was heart-warming. I strapped the backpack onto my shoulders. "And the camp is for three days and two nights out in the local woods," I reassured her with a grin, reaching for my house keys to open the front door. Mom had finished the second batch of pancakes just in time as well. She took off her apron, leaving it folded neatly on top of the kitchen table as she walked towards me.

"Now, have fun out there, but please be safe too, for your own sake and for ours," She said, looking at me in the eyes tenderly.

"Do not worry, Mom, I will," I promised her. Nothing else to say, she hugged me around the waist lovingly. Returning the affection, I hugged her back as well. Three days did not seem like a long time but it may progress much slower when separated from the urban city life we lived in. It was easy to lose your perception of time in the wilderness; you would start to miss stuff rather quickly.

"Now now, what do we have here, huh? A loving couple?"

We both looked back. Dad had woken up from his deep slumber and was scaling down the stairs sleepily like a zombie. It was evident that he forced himself awake for this moment as he works as a night guard, which meant that he was kind of nocturnal. He was always either asleep or out on duty that we hardly ever had family activities with him but the minutes which he was available he would use all of it just to talk with us about his adventures during night watch. He stopped halfway on the staircase as he studied me and Mom with a blank expression.

"Listen to whatever your Mom says, Richard... And have fun camping in the woods! I might take you to fishing next time... but that is when I am not desperate for sleep like I am right now..." he muttered tiredly as a yawn escaped from his mouth. He was too exhausted to care about covering his gaping mouth with a hand. Formality was not the main concern when you are craving to catch some winks. Yawning once more, he proceeded back up the stairs, his hand holding onto the railing for support. "...And do not wander off into the forest by yourself! There are wild animals out there!" he warned, scratching his back before disappearing into the second floor of the house.

Mom laughed. "He should apply for a convenient job if he really wants to go fishing with you," she shook her head, frowning in disbelief. I could not help but smile at her complaint. Looking back at me, she rested her hands on my shoulders.

"Now go and have the time of your life, okay?" She ordered.

"Roger that, Ma'am!" I replied with a firm salute.

With that, I exited the house and began walking the usual route to school. It was still very early in the wee hours of the morning, which explains why there was not as much traffic and people as during the peak hours where everyone would be rushing to work. As I crossed the street, I wondered if any of my classmates are already there waiting. Most likely none as nobody ever leaves at such a time, especially students; and even specifically my classmates. I sighed. Hopefully, there would be someone there to keep me accompany. Even Mr. Green, the teacher in charge of hosting the camp would be sufficient to avoid my impending boredom. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Well, if no one is there, my phone should be capable of entertaining me till it hits seven I guess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	15. The Stranger 2

As expected, not a single living soul was at the school. Heck, even the school's massive wrought iron gates were still locked. I kicked the roadside curb disappointedly as I readjusted my rather cumbersome backpack, both hands holding firmly onto the bag's straps like an experienced hiker. It felt right to have them clinging to the shoulder straps as I have seen many of the professionals do it in the documentaries when they were out finding interesting species of animals in the depths of mother nature. I had been watching those shows so much that it has admittedly become my second nature to utilize the same gestures and similar decisions like the guys on television. Not wanting to carry the abundant package on my back as I waited for the hour, I proceeded towards one of the public benches for a sit-down. I briefly propped the bulky backpack right beside myself as I stretched my arms out; Boy did it feel heavenly to have that burdensome weight lifted from my shoulders. Sighing in relief, I pulled out my smartphone. There weren't any available and accessible community Wi-Fi which I could connect to, thus limiting the source of entertainment in my phone to the small selection of installed mobile games which I had downloaded beforehand and default applications that came along with the phone's contract.

I stared at the phone screen blankly; no idea of what to do in order to kill time. In all honesty, I was not really interested in the games which I used to have played a lot during the school's break times. I frowned. Sometimes I do hate how humans always yearn for better - It was the main driving force that we had managed to advance till the modern era but getting bored easily was the vice that we all succumb to eventually. Comparing it with the plenty of wilderness documentaries that I had watched, I wondered what if animals were granted intelligence and were as civilized as mankind. Perhaps the same outcome, I concluded; although there might be a few differences as they possess a thing which us humans do not - and that was the natural instincts which they are all born with. Hold on, wasn't there a movie which I had watched recently that was similar?

"Zootopia," I blurted out absent-mindedly, before realizing that I had voiced my thoughts out loud. Slightly embarrassed, I hastily scanned around the surroundings; relaxing as no one was nearby enough to hear my sudden exclamation.

But truthfully told, that new feature film by Disney Animations did portray the world where animals - only mammals, though, were evolved like us; and they did an exceptionally good job on interpreting the outcome and its effects between Prey and Predator mammals. It was entirely composed of animals capable of bipedal stance and were anthropomorphic, which in layman terms, meant that they walk on two feet, wear clothes and perform daily actions like what we do as well. I had caught the movie's screening with a few of my classmates when it first came out in the theatres. The girls were into it because of two sole reasons - one being that it was made by Disney and the other was that it contained such adorable looking characters. They literally were holding back squeals of awe every moment or so. As for me? Well, let's say that I was intrigued by the story and its plot ... also because it featured animalistic behaviour which I found to be an interesting study. Being a movie for kids, it also underlines the problems we face in the real world indirectly; it was quite a masterpiece to be able to cater to both the young and old audiences. I continued scrolling through the phone's menu.

"Damn Richard! You are super early today, did you fall off the wrong side of bed today?"

I looked up.

"Darren! Thank god you are here, was starting to drift off," I chuckled. We were close buddies, always seated together as a pair at the back of the classroom. That did not place us anywhere close to the people who were not into studying, ironically we were always doing well in the top ten academically every semester. I guess that makes us two students that our teachers did not have to fret about. I checked the time; it was about six thirty. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Speak for yourself - why are you that early as well?" I questioned in suspicion.

"Blame the surprisingly smooth traffic and for my buses to arrive coincidentally on time," He answered, rubbing the back of his head with a hand. I nodded in acknowledgment; Darren lived quite far off from here, having to take two different bus routes during the process of traveling to school. "Always had to wait quite a while to board on the public transportation but today is quite the special day huh," He shrugged as he smiled.

"I saw that you were talking to yourself in the distance just now as I walked, care to share?" Darren prodded my shoulder.

"Uh, was having a phone call," I tried to come out with an excuse, which expectedly flat out did not work as he returned my obviously superficial attempt at a white lie with an unamused expression.

"Pretty sure you do not hold the phone away from yourself when you make phone calls," Darren said, gesturing at my smartphone using his eyes. "You had it resting on your lap when I noticed."

"Fine..." I gave in. Well, there goes all my hopes of nobody witnessing the incident. "I was in deep thought about stuff and had accidentally spoken them without noticing. It's nothing interesting, really." I admitted dryly, keeping my phone in my pants side pocket.

"What _sort_ of stuff?" He pried deeper.

I groaned sulkily. "Do I really have to disclose that information to you so that you can stop asking?"

Darren returned my desperate inquiry with a toothy grin.

"Its... about the movie," I muttered under my breath.

"Movie? Oh! You mean _that_ movie," Darren piped, taking a seat on the same bench beside me. His backpack was also hulking large as mine, filled to the brim with camping equipment. He was dressed in a simple grey tank top with a pair of knee-length beige Bermuda shorts; topped with a set of sporty hiking shoes. He spread his legs apart as he rested his elbows on top of his lap, hands laced together. "Could not really enjoy the film with all the girls going goo-gah over literally everything," he joked.

"Hey! I heard that!" A female voice complained.

The two of us immediately glanced in front of us. It was one of our girls in class, Stacey. She was one of the biggest Disney fans in our cohort and she was certainly not happy on being gossiped in that manner. Stacey stomped towards us. "It is true that we were excited over the characters but I am sure enough that we were not _that_ loud," She preached at Darren in aggression.

"Woah, woah! Hold your horses, it was just a joke!" Darren explained, arms raised defensively.

 

It had reached seven. It definitely did not take long for half an hour to pass by when Darren and Stacey were somewhat arguing about nonsensical stuff; Darren mostly defending himself whilst Stacey was shooting words like a malfunctioned baseball pitcher. It was very entertaining to watch their conversation that took flight from Zootopia all the way to oddly a microwave catching on fire, which was only stopped abruptly after other classmates started to arrive. Our classmates were all present at the venue and so was Mr. Green. Out of everyone, it seemed that our teacher was the most prepared and hyped for the event - which was self-explanatory as he took care of Physical Education and sports. The excursion buses had driven into the school compound and were ready to set off for the local woods. We boarded our bus as Mr. Green took attendance from the entrance. Darren and I sat on the last row of seats. As usual, we claimed the whole span of five to ourselves and ourselves only. We had done this every single time we had a class excursion outdoors and it had become a well-known fact to the rest of our classmates that nobody ever touches the back row; it apparently had transformed into a form of cultural practice.

"I wonder what kind of tents we will be pitching," Darren exclaimed, leaving his backpack on the empty seat next to mine before seating beside me. That way, we did not have to tuck them between our legs like all others did. We had the whole back row to ourselves and we would make use of every inch of it during long bus rides.

"Hopefully not family sized tents; I do not appreciate the idea of sleeping like a pack of tuna fish," I replied, earning a laugh from him.

"Agreed," Darren chuckled. "Three days out in the woods, just like in those typical B-rated horror films that air at night on the television. Better to snuggle up in big numbers, eh?" he added.

"Right, I will sleep outside if I have to," I retorted.

"Be careful, Jason might be out there finding for students to murder," Darren warned, trying his best to sound intimidating.

"Chances of me being eaten alive by a wild grizzly bear are much higher than that. Way higher," I commented, using my knowledge about forests in general.

"Discovery channel?" Darren asked.

"Yeah," I conceded.

The bus ride was no doubt going to take a while. Darren had plugged into his phone and was listening to his selection of songs whilst I watched as the scenery whizzed past as we entered the highway. I had decided that I was not going to use my phone as it did not really appeal to me entertainment wise. It's been long since I had the chance to observe Mother Nature outside of my comfort zone besides the places shown in the documentaries. It was certainly eye candy for me as I hardly ever ventured out of my house except for when I walked to school. Seeing the clouds drifting slowly through the clear skies like giant floating wisps of cotton candy, reservoirs sparkle gloriously under the light of the bright morning sun, trees of various shapes and sizes sway gently from the occasional mellow breezes of wind was genuinely soothing; it felt like enlightenment. The wonders of nature surely intrigued me. But that was just one side of experiencing the world. The other side had yet to be discovered - and that was the sole reason why I enlisted for this camping trip. To be able to admire the beautiful creatures of the wilderness.

 

 

 

 

 


	16. The Stranger 3

It was around eight thirty in the morning when we finally reached the local woods. Our excursion buses had driven off the minute all of us alighted with our belongings as the bus conductors apparently were in a rush; perhaps to the next pick up point for another school. Setting up tents was the first activity over at the forest besides the usual attendance roll call. Thankfully, we were given tents for two to sleep in and not the spacious family ones which I personally despised of. Undeniably, I was quite the introvert – and personal space and privacy were important requirements else I would not be comfortable. It was fun watching students experiencing their first attempt at pitching a tent; especially when their finished product somehow manages to not resemble a triangular prism but a weird oblong volume that appears to be on the verge of collapsing or exploding. Due to this, Mr. Green announced that the start of the camping activities would start after an hour long break. As for us, Darren and I managed ours within a professional record time of five minutes. Not to brag like a kid but I do have to say that my knowledge about camping obtained from wilderness documentaries were of great help when we were setting our tent up. Unfortunately, we were beaten by a girl pairing – and to add salt to our wounds, Stacey was one of them. According to the other classmates, they were already long done with theirs and had decided to do a bit of exploration around the campsite beyond the dense wall of trees.

I silently cursed under my breath. I had totally forgotten the fact that Stacey was not the kind of girl who you would expect to see hosting pretentious tea parties or gossiping hot fashion trends with other girls. She was the outgoing kind; always thirsty for adventure. Now I have discovered that she shared similar interests as I do. And I thought I was the special one eh? Not wanting to be left out of the game, I turned to Darren, who was admiring our tent in pride. “Hey, seems like Stacey and her partner went out to explore around, let’s try to find them,” I said softly, not wanting to catch our teacher’s attention.

Darren frowned. “I would like to but question is, do we know exactly where they headed off to?” he asked, gesturing his arm at the thick layers of forest foliage. “We might be the ones lost in there and not them if we were to be unfortunate,” he theorized.

“Relax! I had asked Stacey’s classmates and they told me that she had ventured downhill to the nearby river in hopes of discovering wild life,” I assured him. Darren looked at me, sceptical. “Seriously. You do not believe me?” I sighed inwardly.

Darren laughed as he pat my back firmly, making me trip a few steps forward. “Just kidding man, loosen up!” he exclaimed before retrieving his water bottle for a quick sip. Quenching his thirst, he grabbed my backpack inside our tent and casually tossed it at me. I caught hold of the cumbersome load; this time the force of the heavy weight making me stumble backwards. Darren chuckled. “That’s the wrong way Richard!”

I smiled disapprovingly as I hefted my bag over my shoulders. “You better not do that if I am near the edge of a Cliffside,” I joked. “Unless you desire to be known as the new murderer in the woods.”

Darren shrugged. “Maybe I would, who knows?” He answered cunningly.

Waving the conversational jests aside, I proceeded to walk in the direction where Stacey had went. “Quickly, we only have an hour’s worth of time before the camp rangers join with Mr. Green. Once they arrive, there would be no other opportunities like this anymore!” I noted at Darren strictly.

With that, we stealthily left the camping grounds right as Mr. Green attended to a struggling pair of students who were having difficulties with pitching their tent. We had made sure to zip our tent close in order to fake the impression that we were inside doing our own business. If he were to notice anyone missing from the campsite, it would be an upright emergency as the school was held responsible for the safety and well-being of the students. Darren and I quickened our pace the moment the campsite was out of view. I pulled out a rolled up print of the forest’s map from my backpack’s pocket as we traversed through the overgrown shrubbery that interlaced the dirt track which was gradually narrowing. I halted as we came across a set of footprints in the wet soil, suggestively belonging to Stacey’s as we can see the same branding of her shoe on the muddy imprint. I studied the map. “Seems like they did take this route. Let’s try to sneak up on them and give them a surprise shall we?” I mused. Darren smirked at the thought of it.

“Sounds fun, what sort of prank are you thinking of?” He exclaimed eagerly.

“Maybe we could splash water on them or something,” I proposed.

“Damn, you sure are scheming!” Darren commended, nodding in agreement to the vicious plan that I had half-heartedly devised.

We continued down the narrowing road, to a point in time where we had to trek in a single file as nature was eating its way ferociously into the sides of the walkway. Scrawny branches of close hugging trees scraped against our clothes joined by strands of wild tallgrass whipping and lashing out at our legs. Up above, vines hung from tree to tree like venomous alien snakes waiting to hunt. Each and every concise step we took were accompanied by the soft sharp crunches and crackles of dead leaves and grinding rocks. It felt amazing pushing through the forest’s overgrowth; giving me the sense that as if I was a proud wilderness expert actually filming a documentary for National Geographic. If there was such a thing as heaven, I was already in it. Darren followed behind me, admiring the works of nature as well. It did not take long before we heard the soothing sound of flowing water, contrasted by Stacey’s voice echoing throughout the forest; which meant that we were close to the river. We exchanged mischievous glances at one another, both ready to take the prank into action.

“You ready?” Darren asked, crouching low as we hid behind a large boulder covered in moss.

“Hell yeah, born ready,” I replied with a grin.

Who said that the smartest students in class are always the best in behaviour? Definitely not us two. But we do behave back in school, though. Besides, Stacey and her adventure buddy Grace had pranked us during the previous camping trip at a dairy farm by spraying our bunker – or rather, almost dousing it with loads of mosquito spray. We had a lot of difficulty sleeping due to the fact that our room stank like insecticide. Fresh air from the forest was always the best air and trust me, having to smell mosquito repellent for eight hours straight was not ideal. The four of us were always notoriously pranking each other ever since elementary school till now but we remained as good friends. I smirked as I recalled the fun memories of our childhood days. But that was not our main concern as of now. It was now the time to get our revenge. I felt no remorse at the idea of drenching them with river water; after all, they had deliberately set up this prank with the mind-set that we would eventually get back at them for it. As I was about to commence the water party, I heard Darren gasp.

“What is it? Did they notice us?” I asked disappointedly.

“No… oh god. Look over there, past that boulder,” Darren whispered in concern. Instinctively, I stood up and peered over our hiding spot. My body froze as soon as my eyes made contact with the object across the river.

A bear. A grizzly bear.

It was just a couple dozen feet away from the girls. And to make things worse, it was approaching them - growling. Both of them were not moving from their positions, which was a good sign that they knew the preventive measures of being confronted by a wild predator out in the woods. Stacey was surprisingly calm. However, Grace appeared to be trembling in fear.

“Grace is attracting the bear,” I spoke. Darren could only managed a slight nod. I turned to him. “We need to help them!”

“But h-how?” Darren asked.

“I-I do not know, but we got to help them, otherwise the bear might start attacking the moment it deems both of them as food,” I muttered, shifting my gaze back at the hulking giant. I desperately processed the situation, but there was no time for conceptualizing a plan this time around. We had no tranquilizers like what the professionals have as a safety precaution, we had no raw meat to throw out as a decoy, and we had no firearms to scare the threatening beast away in time. Wait, maybe we do have something.

“Darren,” I called to him. He glanced back at me. “I need you to rush back to the campsite and notify the rangers. I will try to distract the bear from a distance,” I added.

“Wait what? No way dude! You will be killed!” Darren argued in horror.

“There is no point in worrying about me! It’s either I risk it or we watch the two of them get mauled by it!” I noted. My makeshift plan was evidently dangerous but we needed all the time that we could buy. Darren was still appalled by my decision and was clearly against my will. I shook him violently on the shoulders. “Darren! We do not have the time for deciding! Now go!”

Darren snapped out of his panicking and began making a mad dash for the camp, almost tripping over a rock as he sprinted uphill. “Promise me that you will not be eaten! I will be back with help as soon as I can!” he shouted before disappearing into the dense foliage. I laughed sheepishly the minute I realized what I was putting myself into. Picking up the bulkiest rock that I could find, I rushed out from the hiding spot, placing myself a good distance away from the girls so that they would be able to make a break for it when I taunt the bear. Stacey’s eyes widened the moment she saw me sprinting out of cover. She gasped in shock the second she noticed the rock that was in my hands and realized what I was about to do. Grace covered her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. I could see Stacey mouthing “No” repeatedly but I did not care. They were the best group of friends I have had and never was I going to lose them to an animal attack. I gave Stacey a cheeky smile as I took in a deep breath.

“Hey you! Yeah you! Over here, I have a gift for you!” I yelled out loudly.

The bear growled louder as it turned away from the girls and faced me. At that point of time, I could have sworn my body was paralyzed. Who knew the thrill of impending death took such a huge toll? Pushing the fear back down, I hurled the rock with all the strength I could muster. The rock collided with the bear’s head hard but all it did was made the beast furious. Taking the opportunity that the bear was focused on me, I shouted at the girls. “Stacey, Grace! Run and hide! Do not come out of hiding until Darren arrives with the rangers!”

The girls immediately took off into the forest’s cover. I fixed my stare back at the infuriated grizzly bear. It let out a blood curdling roar and instantaneously started pouncing towards me on all fours in a speed that I knew I could not match, closing the distance fast. I gulped in terror. My mind was desperately shooting danger alarms throughout my nerves but my body refused to budge an inch. The next thing I knew was Grace and Stacey screaming out my name and blacking out a split second before the bear assaulted me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	17. The Stranger 4

It was nothingness. I was floating aimlessly in a place completely isolated from everything physical. My conscience was the only item that I kept along with me. I was void of all senses, void of time and my existence was questionable. Was this the afterlife? Heaven must have been a lie if this was what it truly was. I tried to recollect what had happened that brought me here but my mind was clouded. One hypothesis clicked in my head – am I a spirit now like how all those thick leather bound books and hidden cults preached about the supernatural? No, such things are not possible… are they? But one thing I knew for sure was that I was in constant movement, despite being blinded by a veil of black. Where was this unexplainable current taking me to I had no idea. I was carried by the formless tides for a while through the timeless state of limbo before my conscience was robbed from me as well.

“Bonnie, do you think he’s dead?” I heard a voice.

“Stu! What nonsense are you blabbering? Of course he’s not, Hun,” Another voice.

“He might be asleep, try poking him with a twig.”

I heard the sounds of footsteps in the grass. It went silent for a while before I heard it again. This time, I felt something prodding me on the back. Wait, I felt something? I am not dead? Just then, everything came pouring back into my mind. Camping trip, the woods, sneaking off with Darren… and confronting a bear like a suicidal maniac. Bear? Oh god, the bear!

“Bear!” I yelled out as I jolted up from the grass patch. If the creature did not feast on me, did help arrive in time? I tried to see what was around me but my eyes were still adjusting to the bright daylight. Squinting, I could only make out two seemingly short figures standing in front, the two voices which I heard were probably them.

“Bear! Where?” a voice exclaimed in shock.

“There are no bears in Bunny Burrows silly,” the other voice, presumably the female, answered.

Bunny Burrows? What is that? Wait a minute, where the heck am I?

I rubbed the crust off my eyes, removing the swab of blurry mist which impaired my vision. I took a second glance at the figures. Two rabbits? I sighed in relief. Hang on there, they are wearing clothes; Farmer clothes! And they were the ones speaking! Whoa there, that is very odd, in a multitude of ways. I stared at the two bunnies blankly, dumbfounded as I tried to process what my eyes were seeing. I observed my surroundings once more, taking it all in. I was in a field of carrots… and close by was a tractor. Okay; talking animals, dressed like humans, and they possess technology. This seemed way too familiar. I was swiftly hit by an epiphany. Being my curious self, I decided to confirm my hunches.

“Bonnie,” I pointed to the bunny clad in a pink dress. “Stu,” I said as I shifted my finger towards the other rabbit who was wearing blue overalls over a plaid shirt and a green hat with a carrot logo resting on his head. The two of them gasped in surprise.

“How did you know our names?” Stu asked, perplexed. Bonnie stood beside him, nodding as well.

Crap. My guess was indeed correct but how in the world am I going to explain this now? I gave a wry smile. “Who wouldn’t know of the parents of the great Officer, Judy Hopps?” I crossed my fingers hard mentally – hopefully this was sufficient explanation; and it was.

“Well my my, am I flattered,” Bonnie replied with a sweet smile as she averted her gaze from me in joy.

“Of course! Everyone knows of Jude the dude,” Stu noted proudly. He studied my apparel once again. “So, are you here to look for Gideon?”

“Gideon?” I repeated in confusion. I get that the pie loving fox lived in Bunny Burrows but how was I related?

“You know, you foxes do have a tendency to hang out sometimes,” Stu chuckled, snapping the straps of his overall.

Wait. Did he just call me a fox?

I raised up my hand to my face. Sure enough and to my disbelief, I was looking at a paw; a fox paw to be exact. I immediately reached out to my face and grabbed onto what felt like my own… muzzle? Stunned from my findings, I ran my elongated tongue about my mouth; grazing through a set of sharp canine teeth. Still refusing to belief what I was feeling, I looked down at my body – to realize that it was all covered in red and cream fur all the way from head to… tail! I instantaneously grabbed on to my tail, speechless as mixed emotions washed over me. Strangely I was fully capable of moving my new found limb as though I was born with one. I placed both of my hands… or paws, on my head again; touching my ears. They were large and pointed, and even responded when I wanted them to move. I shuddered in shock. I was no longer human. The pair of rabbit farmers looked at me, muddled at the fact that I was acting as though I had never seen my physical body before in my entire life; which to be honest, it was quite an accurate analogy to describe what I was currently doing.

“You… okay there?” Stu asked in concern.

“Ye- yeah. Was just checking if I had misplaced something,” I excused, still trying to persuade myself mentally that I was a fox now. Hopefully this animal thing does not grow on me and make me less of a human.

“Speaking of which, what is your name kid?” Stu inquired, Bonnie nodding in agreement once again.

“Richard. Richard Hunt,” I answered, holding back a smirk as I had cunningly changed my second name to a cheesy word – which I thought was a brilliant idea since Disney does give surnames that somewhat relate to what the characters are like indirectly; so why not give it a shot?

“Richard, what a good name,” Bonnie complimented.

“Have to agree to that, we do have three to four Richards in our family,” Stu added optimistically. He leaned closer, wrapping an arm over my shoulders. “But that is nothing compared to the number of Bonnies with have – including her as well, it totals to twenty three,” Stu cupped his mouth and whispered into my ear. I looked at the bunny farmer incredulously; Twenty three? By heavens did it prove that they were running out of names to give their new born kits, especially on the female side. Stu simply winked back.

Bonnie shook her head judgmentally, mildly irritated that Stu did not share the secret with her. She looked back at me and smiled. “I do not know what are you boys are keeping from me but let us head back to the farmhouse shall we? We have yet to welcome Richard to Bunny Burrows right and proper,” she noted warmly.

And so, I followed them as we left the carrot fields. As the rabbit couple was conversing about all sorts farm related subjects, I simply admired the setting which encompassed Bunny Burrows. Out in the distance, I was able to make out a few other bunny farmers operating rabbit sized tractors; ploughing and harvesting the fields, which grew mostly carrots and a minority of other vegetables – blueberries being the second largest in farmland. We came across the market stands, which were occupied by vendors desperately hawking for a passer-by to purchase their greens. It was noon time and there were a decent amount of animals shopping for groceries. We did stop by the booth which belonged to them and introduced me to one of their family members who was taking care of their stall. The bunny had mistaken me for Nick, Judy’s partner in the ZPD who was also a fox; which really urged me to view myself in a mirror as soon as possible. Finally, we had arrived at our destination, in front of a rather large building painted in bright red and accented by white wooden framing.

Stu prised the structure with pride. “Welcome to our base of operations, the Hopps family farmhouse!” he exclaimed. “The very place where Bonnie and I settled in and lived like typical carrot farmers. But hey, we are the best of the best!”

Bonnie snickered in embarrassment. “Not entirely true, Stu, remember the Nibbs family? They have way more farmland than we do.”

“Well, in my eyes, we are!” Stu claimed regardless. I chuckled at his peculiar arrogance.

“But that isn’t what we are here for right? Let’s head inside shall we?” Bonnie reminded him.

“R- Right,” Stu acknowledged.

Entering the farmhouse, I had to admit that it was very homecoming and cosy. Apart from the fact that there were about five times the number of chairs, tables and couches than a normal house would have, it was well furnished. Stu and I plopped down on one of the many couches; all of which were situated around a fireplace which was not in use till winter. Bonnie went to grab some snacks as we relaxed on the recliners. I winced in surprise as I sat down, completely forgetting the fact that I had a tail now as I briefly sat on top of it. I shifted my tail away and leaned back on the soft pillows of the sofa. Albeit the couch being a tad smaller for my size, it still retained its comfort value.

Stu turned to face me. “Say Richard, do you come from the farms? Or are you from the city?”

“The city,” I answered back. I knew nothing of agriculture or rural living anyway.

“You must be in the central district as well! Same as Judes,” Stu said excitedly. “Did you happen to see her frequent around town much?”

“Once or twice, when she is doing patrol duty with Nick,” I replied.

Bonnie returned from the kitchen with a tray on her hands – paws. Darn, I am really not used to this animal thing. She placed the tray on the table as she took a seat beside Stu. The tray had an assortment of fruits and vegetables, but what caught my eyes was the basket of blueberries.

“Sorry, we could not find anything that you might like, so I figured maybe you would like the berries since Nick loves to pop them into his mouth,” Bonnie said apologetically.

I raised an eyebrow in question. Since I was a fox now, does it mean that I could no longer appreciate vegetables? That would be a huge let-down if it was true as I was quite the healthy eater and I had always enjoyed a serving of vegetables in my meals. So, I grabbed the largest carrot in the pile and held it up to my mouth. Bonnie and Stu just stared at me, stumped.

“Richard? No predator has ever taken a liking to vegetables,” Stu exclaimed.

“Guess it’s about time I test the waters now, isn’t it?” I said, grinning. I took a generous bite out of the carrot. I could see them both cringing from the fact that a fox was actually eating something that isn’t in his diet. But to my sheer relief, the carrot tasted exactly like before when I was human; and boy, this was one fresh carrot. Savouring its flavour, I chewed it down before swallowing. Bonnie gasped in astonishment as Stu’s eyes widened in surprise. I proceeded to finish the whole carrot as they silently watched.

“You rabbits really grow some fine crops,” I commended as I plucked a piece of lettuce to snack on. Their veggies were way better tasting than the ones Mom would find at the local wet market. Even without cooking them in a pot, they were delicious enough to be consumed raw. The pair blinked absent-mindedly at my praise.

“That’s strange. In all my life, I have never seen a predator take a liking to vegetables,” Bonnie admitted, Stu just sat there, gobsmacked. “And then you came along,” she added.

“I must really introduce you to Judy and Nick now,” Stu stuttered in amazement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	18. The Stranger 5

“Do make yourself comfortable; we have farm business to attend to, so catch you back when the sun starts to set!” Stu voiced out as the rabbit couple exited the farmhouse.

Bidding them a quick farewell, I sunk back down against the soft pillows of the couch. They were kind enough to let me rest indoors till evening when they come back from work. During the afternoon it was accessible to the community under the supervision of a few Hopps family members, most of them were manning the booths right outside while doing so. Seemingly, this place was opened to public visitors like myself; which I had clearly mistaken it for their actual living quarters.

“So many things happening today, huh,” I muttered under my breath as l stared at the ceiling.

  Multiple things all happened to me so chaotically that it did not feel like it took place on the same day. Speaking about time sense, time seemed to have stopped running during the whole moment which I was out and unconscious. Was there even a scientific explanation for such a mind boggling event? Perhaps I should have watched more science fiction; Quantum physics was Greek to me. I raised my “hands” to my face. I am a fox now – is that a good thing or a bad thing? I really needed a nice long look at myself in the mirror if I ever find one. I reached an arm under my shirt, ruffling the soft fur which had now covered my formerly bare chest entirely. Man, this was weird. For some reason, it felt strangely good that it was quite embarrassing. Luckily, no one was here to see me acting all strange and looking dumb. Maybe that was why dogs always loved a good old belly rub, I believed.

An idea sprung up to my mind. Seating up straight, I tried to produce a growl. To my disappointment, it still sounded like me – a typical teenaged human letting out a subdued grunt. I guess I do not know how to fox yet, I chuckled. The only fox thing which I had gained apparently was fluid control of my tail and a way better sense of smell. Even from the couch, I could distinguish the fragrance of the marketed produce outside. Now to hope that I would never come across anything foul smelling.

Living life here might take some time and effort to get used to how things work around here as an animal; but I would prefer to return back to the real world. My friends and family would be worried sick, especially my family. However, on second thought, I may have been eaten alive or clawed to death by that ruthless bear – resulting in me being transported to another world to continue my life as a new being. It was demoralizing to think of it that way but I do not see any other logical justification as to how I was brought here. I sighed, closing my eyes. How am I going to proceed from here? I needed guidance.

Guidance… Oh yes, my smartphone!

I sat up straight. If my clothes were still intact when I was brought here, it should have transferred along as well. To my relief, I did feel an object weighing down inside of my pants side pocket. Reaching into the pocket, I grabbed hold of the smartphone. I hesitated.

“This better have not run out of battery power,” I pleaded.

 To have a phone running on a flat battery was the most clichéd situation one could ever dared imagine when they are stranded and lost. I had seen plenty of scenes which played out just like that, though majority of those times were from extracts in various thriller or survival movies. But that did not rule out the possibility of me suffering from the same unthinkable fate when I pulled out my own smartphone.

 

Thank the gods, the phone was healthy and in working condition. And it had around sixty percent of battery left to spare. I would have figured the numbers to be way lesser than what it was right now since I remembered that I had carelessly forgotten to charge it back at home. Perhaps Mom had plugged it to charge when she was up in the morning. What a life saver! I squinted in confusion as I noticed some kind of title on the top left corner of my phone screen.

“Stam…pede?” I read out the white text which was labelled in the notification bar.

“Hang on a second… I am connected to a service provider?” I exclaimed in astonishment.

Hope growing inside of myself, I opened the web browser. It took a brief moment of buffering before the homepage started loading. But all of my anticipation went down the drain as soon as I saw the “Zoogle” webpage, which clearly meant that there was no chance of me trying to call home as the service belonged to this mammal populated city. I shook my head sadly - Humans had never existed in this world to begin with.

“There is always a catch to everything, is there?” I mumbled, typing random letters into the search bar.

To my utter discontent, I could not even browse through the city’s internet. It consistently brings me back to an error page informing me that the phone’s operating system was not compatible; and even suggested to me that maybe my phone could be outdated. Which was pretty obvious given that my phone was alien to this world as well. Nothing was going according to what I had yearned for. All that I could assume was that I had gloriously arrived at the steep slope where everything goes downhill – literally everything.

Turning around in my seat, I planted my face into the pillows and groaned. I would have cried and bawled out my frustrations if I was not that hard boiled of a guy. I had always believed that shedding tears never solved a crisis. Even with that motive instilled in my head, I still could not bat off the feeling of homesickness that occasionally washes back to me like a tidal wave that dissipates at slower rate than it arrives; leaving the sand damp and moist with the aftertaste of loneliness in its wake. Despite the fact that I was alive and well in Zootopia and not running for my life from a horde of reanimated corpses in an apocalyptic world, it still did not feel right. Ultimately, this would take a while to adapt accordingly to this new form of living.

I flipped onto my back, leaning against the curvature of the sofa’s armrest. Perhaps a nap would clear up my cluttered mind and relief the stress. This technique had always proven itself effective for most circumstances, and I had been adapting it every time there was a major exam that I had to prepare for. I rested my hands on top of my body; taking in deep gradual breaths as I fixed my eyes on the ceiling. It did not take me long before I began feeling heavy-eyed.

“Richard! Richard, wake up kiddo! You would not want others see you dozing off now, would you?” Stu shook me by the shoulders.

I let out a self-content yawn, stretching myself from my slumber. I glanced dreamily at Stu as I sat up from the couch.

“How long have I been sleeping?” I asked.

“Well, we have just came back from our duties. I would say around four hours?” Stu regarded factually. He let off a hearty chuckle as he gave my shoulder a firm push. “You are quite the heavy sleeper you know that? It took me several attempts to get you up.”

Darn. I slept for that long? Must have been a comfortable dream I was having; although I had already forgotten what it was about the minute I was awake. Bonnie was standing beside Stu as usual. She smiled when I turned to face her. Seeing her present soothed me on the inside; something incomparable which I believed all mothers possess – a calm embracing warmth. Maybe I was beginning to really miss my parents.

“Isn’t it time for you to close the farmhouse? I must get going then, thank you two for the hospitality; I really appreciate it.” I thanked the couple as I stood up. I did not plan to burden them any further with my problems.

“Hold up, we are able to hitch you a ride back to town if you are heading back,” Bonnie offered, grabbing onto my paws as I was about to turn away.

“You know, you should take that offer since the train station is always packed full at Bunny Burrows,” Stu agreed. “Squeezing with all the big ones might make you smaller.”

I paused. True enough, I bet my life on it that my wallet would definitely not be of any help trying to purchase a one way ticket back to the bustling metropolis. The ticket counter would definitely not accept human currency as payment. I considered my options. Should I take on the offer? Or risk it?

“It is getting late and I do not wish to bother you folks any further,” I answered back with a smile.

“It’s all good as day, kid! Besides, it would not be us who will be driving you back to town,” Stu exclaimed.

I tilted my head in question. “Neither of you are?”

“Judy would be paying us a quick visit today before heading back to the precinct. We were thinking that you could perhaps join us for dinner before you leave with her,” Bonnie replied.

“Besides, it would be fun to watch Jude’s reaction to when you munch vegetables!” Stu commented.

“It’s fine, really. If it does make you feel uneasy, take it as one last welcome gift from us for your first visit to our farms today,” Bonnie added. I looked back at Bonnie, not certain of what to decide upon. She gave my paws a soft reassuring squeeze.

“If you guys are fine with it… I guess I will stay for the meal,” I conceded, smiling. The pair beamed in delight from my answer.

“Boy, Judy is sure going to like you!” Stu noted. “She really has a liking for foxes, you know.”

I chuckled at his statement. Stu could not have said it any better. Over the entirety of the movie, she had made friends with three foxes within a mere frame of two days. Not considering the period of time where she had the rather unexpected conflict with Nick during the Night howler case, she had zero problems being close friends with the trio.

“I hope she does,” I laughed. To be honest, it was quite exciting knowing that I would be socializing with the main protagonist of the movie just like that. It really makes me wonder of what the characters have been doing past what was shown in the film. Furthermore, I get to experience all of this phenomenal magic first hand. Maybe things are not as bad as I thought there were.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	19. The Stranger 6

“Do we really have to visit them again? I mean, we just did the same thing days ago,” Nick complained wryly, seated in his usual spot beside the driver’s seat.

 It was past their working hour and all he wanted was to be back home so that he could return to his couch to watch the late night TV programs. Nick groaned lazily. Yesterday had been his turn to take the wheel during their daily patrols around the city, so today the cruiser belonged to Judy. They had agreed on sharing the car between even and odd days. Since it was an odd day - and to spice things up, it was a Friday as well; she had decided to make another visit to her family back in Bunny Burrows.

“Come on Nick, don’t be such a baby,” Judy retorted back, stepping on the gas. “Besides, the kids are so _eager_ for your return!”

Nick massaged his forehead. “Whiskers… you do know how many little brothers and sisters you have, right?”

“Sure do! Two hundred and ninety two!”

“See the problem? I could not possibly handle all of - did the numbers increase?” Nick asked in sudden shock, scratching the back of his ear. “Please tell me I had misheard.”

“Nope, it is all true! There are 5 more of them – yet to be named!” Judy answered in excitement. She beamed at him jubilantly. “Actually, that is the reason why I wanted to pay them a quick visit when I come to think of it.”

“You bunnies really are good at multiplying,” Nick commented in disbelief.

Speaking of handling rabbit kits, he could feel a headache coming just by thinking about babysitting all two hundred and ninety two of her younger siblings again. The previous time was overwhelming and had left him exhausted from playing tag with them. His feet felt like he was walking on hot coal by the time he caught all of them. Even running a marathon was less intimidating. Chasing one or two of them was easy to cope, but multiplying that number by a hundred was deadly. Not to mention that they hopped around so erratically – making sharp turns out of the blue and halting in mid-hop that it was almost impossible to grab them. Nick gradually slid down the seat as he reimagined the scene play through his head.

“Don’t worry; I was just messing with you! By the time we reach there, they would all be tucked in bed and sound asleep,” Judy reassured Nick when she saw him looking pale.

“Well, Hallelujah,” he exclaimed in relief. Nick repositioned himself and sat up straight, resting against the seat’s backrest. After making himself comfortable, Nick then whipped out his phone and continued his usual fair of browsing through the web. A rather awkward moment of pure silence enveloped the car as they rode down the highway that led to the outskirts of Zootopia. It remained this way until Nick finally decided to break the stillness in the air.

“Say Carrots, a new restaurant has opened nearby our precinct. And apparently, it is one of those new hybrid catering outlets which serve both prey and predator alike. Care to join me for lunch tomorrow? I will drive,” Nick said, switching his phone for the car radio. He did not feel right to stare at his smartphone right after he had promised Judy that he would refrain from doing so during the previous case. As much as he tried to avoid using such technology, all bad habits die-hard and he would find himself repeating the same offense time to time.

Judy casted a quick glance at him before focusing back onto traffic ahead. “Sounds pretty good to me, what kind of food do they serve there though?”

“Not the shadiest of clues – I am eager to find out as well,” Nick replied as he gazed down the lengthy road. The highway extended outwards to the horizon, uniformly shrinking in width as it stretched far out. He watched as the luscious scenery of the modern city rushed past the sides of the car. “You know what? Perhaps this hometown of mine is getting closer to being the Utopia which many envisioned it to be.”

“As long as we try out best to improve,” Judy noted in optimism as she tapped on the steering wheel. “We will get there eventually.”

“Zootopia. The city where prey and predator come together and live their lives in harmony; what a big white lie, huh?” Nick quoted.

Judy snickered. “If I had a dollar every time somebody believed in that.”

“Ha, yeah… You will be the richest mammal in Zootopia,” Nick answered.

No doubt that every single young mammal would have undying faith in in such rumoured fallacies. However, having Zootopia as his birthplace, Nick knew fully of what the cherished haven truly was. As Judy was going to add on to the casual banter, her phone started ringing in defiance.

“Give me a second, I’m guessing it’s my parents who are calling,” Judy exclaimed, pulling off to the roadside before picking up the receiving end. Nick peeked at her mobile screen. It was not exactly a phone call; more of a video chat as he could make out both of her parents - Stu and Bonnie. He recalled the first time that he had met them. They were not very keen at the start knowing that Judy would have to be working alongside a fox, as rabbits and foxes were common enemies. Nevertheless, after knowing that Nick had cared for her and even stepped into save Judy from being fired right on the spot during her first case, they had decided to look past their mild sense of distrust towards him and accepted him. Days passed by and eventually they have grown close enough to trust him entirely that they even have Nick added inside their family’s mobile chat group.

“Hi Sweetie! Glad to see you after so long! Are you doing fine?” Bonnie exclaimed.

“Yeah, everything is swell!” Judy replied in glee, a big smile plastered on her face.

“Are you on your way here?” Bonnie asked.

“Yep! I have brought Nick along as well!”

“Oh, Nick is coming with you? That’s even better!” Stu cut in excitedly. “You two will be in for quite a treat!”

“I have to agree with your father on that,” Bonnie laughed.

“What is it?” Judy inquired pleadingly, leaning closer to the screen.

“Cannot reveal it just yet! Do not want to ruin the surprise!” Stu noted which in turn made Judy frown grumpily. She always hated surprises; but the good thing about it was that most of the times it was worth the wait.

“I hope there are blueberries to snack on, else I would be upset,” Nick said, attempting to join the video call by leaning towards Judy from his seat.

“Do not worry about that, we never run out of those!” Bonnie exclaimed. “Oh, and may I know approximately when you would reach here? I might have to hurry up with the cooking if you are arriving soon,”

“Take your time, Mom! We are only halfway there, no need for hurrying,” Judy reassured her.

“Alright, if that is the case, I will resume making dinner. Be sure to drive safely!”

“I will! You can count on me,” Judy piped as she placed her paw on her police badge in pride. “As I am a police officer!”

“Swell! Still, always side the good cops, not the bad ones! Never liked those guys,” Stu exclaimed before checking his wristwatch. “Would you look at the time – I have to go and settle the orders for tomorrow’s produce! Well, see you later then, Judes!”

“Bye! I will make sure to be there on time for the meal!” Judy said as she bid farewell to her parents, ending the video call with a swipe of a finger. Slipping her phone into her pocket, Judy drove back into the highway, steering back to the fast lane; curiosity of the surprise being the main driving force.

Nick looked at her in discomfort. “The surprise better not be your siblings ready to pounce on me as we arrive at their doorstep as I would be a dead fox by dawn.”

“Even if my parents allowed them to stay up late, they would be sleeping like logs by this time,” Judy answered eyes busy on the traffic ahead once again. “The young ones can never remain awake past their curfew – they need their hours for the next day to come anyway.”

[Richard’s Perspective]

I watched as Stu was doing the paperwork for his farm business. Surprisingly, the documents were of resemblance to our world; full of small prints, multiple accounts, names and signatures here and there, some even had the stamp of approval. As far as I recognized the similarities, I did not take accounting in school – which resulted in me not understanding whatever Stu was scribbling on the papers. An avid adventurer like me would never go near anything related to business or cash management. It was too dull for me to take it seriously. I will just leave it to all my aspiring money making classmates for that baloney.

Stu kept his focus on the documents as he suddenly spoke. “Interested? Want to help fill some out?”

“No thanks, I will draw,” I reeled back from his request. “I have zero experience dealing with accounts,” I laughed raggedly.

“It isn’t that hard, actually. See? Even an old carrot farmer like me is capable of it!” Stu chortled. He then changed the subject, which I was glad that he took notice. “It should be around time Judy arrives; in the meantime you could watch the television till she knocks on the front door if you are bored. The channels are local, so do not expect anything from the city area, hah!”

Leaving Stu to his work, I made my way towards the couches for a sit down. Thinking back, most of the time I had inside the farmhouse was spent on this cotton covered two seater. I was either sleeping the hours off or staring at random objects around the house from my spot. Occasionally, I would check my phone to realize that it has nothing to offer. It was like how I would find myself checking the fridge without purpose when I had nothing else to do at home. Staying at a farm sure was certainly not my type of adventure. As much as I preferred going out of my comfort zone in exchange for an escapade outdoors, idling about without any hands on exploration was the dreariest. I flipped through the limited channels, which were airing on the tele, but none of them caught my interest. Do not get me wrong; there were documentaries – but they were all centred on agriculture and vegetation, which I had watched those ample amount of times already that I could practically recap every single detail about each specific farm crop. Seemingly, there were also no crops, which I could see that does not already exist in our world. Carrots, potatoes, melons, berries, vegetables; you name it we have it. Not to mention that since the cast featured mostly farmers, they did not touch on any of the exotic plants.

I was busy snacking on the remainders left of the bowl of blueberries when I heard persistent knocking on the door. Almost immediately, I could hear Stu’s footsteps rapping hurriedly down the stairs from the second floor of the farmhouse.

“They are here!” Stu exclaimed eagerly, heading for the front door, one paw supporting his cap from falling off his head as he sprinted across the guest room like a businessperson catching a train ride during rush hour.

Bonnie had finished plating the dining table with an assortment of vegetarian dishes. “Just in time for dinner! Open the door for them, Stu.”

I remained seated on the couch as Stu hastily opened the front door.

“Hi Mom, Hi Dad!” Judy greeted them happily.

“Hi sweetie, and Nick as well,” Bonnie acknowledged with a smile. The fox waved back courteously. At this moment in time, I was already feeling the anxiety hitting me like a truck. What was I going to say? I hope I looked presentable… as a fox. I swallowed hard when Judy turned, finally noticing me on the couch.

“Who is that? Do you know him Nick?” she asked, cocking a brow. Nick just stared at me.

“No idea Carrots, never met him before in my life.”

Stu jumped in to break the ice. “That right there is the surprise!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	20. The Stranger 7

"He's the surprise?" Judy repeated Stu's words out loudly.

The bunny cop stared at the guest, bewildered. Was this fox from the farms? No, his clothes were speaking the opposite. They were clean and freshly ironed to be of a farmer's. Even Gideon Grey, the pastry chef of Bunny Burrows had clothes, which were weathered from working under the relentless sun. If he was from the city however, just what sort of connection does he have with her parents? She wondered.

"Well, that is just one part of the surprise!" Stu noted. Judy could see the stranger fox letting out a soft, uncertain laugh from her father's witty comment. From where she was standing, she could tell that the new fox was easily in his teens.

She tilted her head in question. "What's the other part then?"

"Oh, that will be for dinner - right Bonnie?"

Bonnie could not help herself but hide her giggle behind her paw. "Yes Stu, it's quite a shocker." She then gestured towards the guest. "Judy, meet Richard. Richard, this is my daughter, Judy. Beside her is her partner, Nick."   
  
[Richard's Perspective]   
As soon as Bonnie started the introductions, seconds appeared to tick like minutes. Knowing myself as quite the introvert, I was not ideal at sparking conversations or meeting new people. This phenomenon always triggers the moment I had to socialize with others who I do not recognize. However, I did not have the excuse this round - I knew both of them quite well; Just that I had never expected to come face to face with characters from an animated film. I had to say something... dragging the silence any much longer would make me give the impression that I was socially awkward. Giving up on pondering for words to speak, I managed to pull off a rigid wave with my paw and what I felt like was a weak but forced smile.  
  
"Nice to meet you guys, I guess," I greeted, my tongue almost caught in the process. My nervousness was getting the good of me. Damn it Richard - get a hold of yourself!

"Hi there!” Judy was instantly up in my face, holding my paw with hers in a firm handshake - or paw-shake - whatever you call that in a mammal populated universe, which caught me off guard. I get that she is energetic and all but, I totally did not expect her actions to be instantaneous.

"Carrots, I think you are scaring him," Nick said, smirking as he walked towards us in his typical casual strides. As he approached, I could tell that I was about an inch shorter. Damn, just how much have I shrunk from my former size? He studied me from top to bottom before extending a paw forwards. "Nick, Nick Wilde."

I accepted his paw with my own. "Richard, Richard Hunt," I spoke.   
Judy scoffed playfully as she observed Nick. "Nobody ever gets afraid of me, dumb fox."

"Hah, maybe it's because you are just that cute of a bunny," Nick kidded.

"Don't call me cute, just go and take a seat, will you?" Judy replied nonchalantly.

Nick's smirk widened from her statement. "All right, you're the boss." He then proceeded to take a seat on one of the couches; grabbing the remote as he sat down and started browsing through the channels.

Judy turned to face me. "Let's have a seat, shall we? Do not mind Nick, he's always this snarky," she exclaimed in his direction. Nick simply waved it off with a paw. We sat down right beside the Fox; each of us to his left and right. I remembered not to plop down on my tail like previously. It is weird to have to care for something extra all of a sudden.

“Is your tail injured or what? You seem to be gazing at it for quite some time, Buddy,” Nick told me. He must have noticed me being distracted by it.

“I thought I saw a dried leaf attached to it, must have been my imagination,” I played it cool.   
Nick raised an eyebrow as he eyed me doubtfully, but shrugged it off casually. “I have been wondering. There are not many of us foxes, yet I have never seen you before; Are you new to the city?” he asked, curious.

“You could say so…” I trailed off, trying to avoid the question. Nick nodded slightly – not certain if he had actually believed in it or was contemplating my answer.

  
Bonnie joined us at the table, Stu following up from behind. He must have finished the paperwork. I was relieved that they joined the conversation, just before the bunny and fox pair could bombard me with series of invasive questions. I would have never known the appropriate explanations for them if they did ask me; right now, I was still in the midst of figuring out my identity in this world.

“Dinner is served! Sorry Nick, I could get you only blueberries,” Bonnie apologized.

“No problem, Mrs. Hopps. Berries are fine with me,” Nick replied as he scooped a paw full of blueberries and skilfully popped them into his mouth one by one. “They never fail to impress my taste buds.”

Stu gestured to Judy and me. “Help yourselves with the food!” he piped excitedly.

Judy looked at me for a second, switching her glance back at Nick.

“What?” Nick asked, taking another serving of berries.

“Mind sharing? I mean, you two are foxes… so vegetables…?” Judy hinted at him.

“Oh. Sorry about that, you want some?” Nick offered me, pushing the bowl of berries towards me, which was already half empty. He sure does like his blueberries, doesn’t he? I thought. Considering the fact that I was able to eat vegetables without concern of being a predator, I decided to let Nick have the remainders instead.

“It’s fine. I can munch on something else,” I declined politely, pushing the bowl back to him.

“Are you sure about that? You are losing some good quality tasting stuff here, you know,” Nick urged me, but popping another few of those berries into his mouth as he did.

“What are you going to eat then? I mean, the other dishes are not for predators,” Judy questioned in confusion. I could hear Stu concealing his laughter, down to a slight snicker. I smiled slightly – He may be a father of over two hundred rabbit kits, but he sure reacts differently from a typical matured… mammal, when he was filled with eagerness. I guess Nick does have a valid point when he claimed that bunnies were very emotional.

“Heh,” was all I could answer as I shrugged and grabbed a boiled carrot from the dinner plate. I had completely forgotten the fact that it was freshly cooked. Luckily, the time that we took conversing and getting to know each other gave time for the dishes to cool down; so I did not end up scalding my paw. Previously was a raw carrot. This time however, it was a cooked one. It should be rather intriguing to try out an animal’s cooking for once.

Nevertheless, before I began wolfing down the vegetable I had in paw, I could not resist the urge to examine the looks on both Nick and Judy’s faces. Judy was seriously muddled, staring at me like as though I was a complete idiot attempting a ridiculous daredevil act. Nick was equally as abashed as his partner was, eyebrow raised high up as his jaw hung open. I could have sworn that I heard either Stu or Bonnie snapping pictures of their faces in relish. Satisfied with my share of reactions collected from mind-blowing the pair, I then proceeded on with the identical process as I did to Judy’s parents. I finished the carrot faster than before. Cooking it had definitely increased its flavour by tenfold. Bonnie surely deserves a Michelin star, I deduced as I dabbed my mouth clean with a disposable napkin right after consuming the delicious orange vegetable. I was no Gordon Ramsey, but I do know if I really liked a dish.

“I am guessing that is the other surprise,” Nick muttered in shock.

“How did – how did you… what?” Judy stuttered, trying to process what she had observed.

 Stu could not resist his amusement any longer. He burst into a laughing fit, guffawing so comically, almost choking on his breath. His bubbly hysterics were so contagious – Bonnie and I started chuckling at him.

“Oh boy - hah! The looks on their faces! I just… can’t even!” Stu exclaimed as he snorted, lying on the ground as he wiped a tear from his eye. He had both arms wrapped around his chest, clutching onto his phone in a tight embrace; not wanting to lose it. At one point in time, he was on the verge of flinging his phone from laughter as he was recording Nick and Judy; that he stopped himself from flailing his arms wildly before falling to the floor. Stu raised the phone above his head and began tapping away. “I am going to post this everywhere! It is priceless!”

Judy immediately recovered from her daze as soon as she heard what her Dad said. “No, no! No, Dad! Do not share that video!” She shouted pleadingly.

“Why the heck not? We are a family Judy, they must see this!” Stu remarked.

“It is embarrassing!” Judy begged. She faced her partner. “Nick! Help me persuade him!”

Nick smirked. “Actually, I do not mind that at all; I have many embarrassing photos because of your “evil-doings” already. A few measly photos wouldn’t kill you,” he said perceptively. “Just let it go.”

“And… sent!” Stu exclaimed. Judy pulled her ears in frustration before slamming her head flat onto the tabletop.

It took quite a while to settle ourselves back to our seats. Judy had given up on coaxing Stu to delete the post in Ewechat – the equivalent of Wechat in the human world when I saw the application on Stu’s phone. I sighed mentally – Disney’s animal puns are out of this world. Speaking of her, I constantly noticed her checking her phone every ten to twenty seconds or so when the rest were busy eating and tapping away madly; probably to reply an explanation in a form of an excuse to every single one of her relatives. Part of me pitied her, especially when she would be done for once her younger siblings wake up and watches the video; by then she would have to hide her head in a paper bag. However, the other part of me felt that it was okay for such events to happen - it bonds with the family healthily and good humour was invaluable.

“So, let me get this straight. You do not find vegetables revolting?” Nick asked.

“Yeah, It tastes good,” I responded, chewing on a piece of lettuce. Judy was too busy with her phone that she did not catch on about our conversation.

“You are one abnormal fox I must admit,” Nick commented, spinning the empty bowl on the table with a claw. He had finished the blueberries. “I had met with foxes half my size, double my bulk, and one that is an albino; but you are the first ever fox and predator to ever eat prey food without barfing it back out.”

“I guess it’s in my genes,” I answered back.

“But are you able to eat what predators snack on?” Nick asked again. “Like, vice versa.”

“What do you eat then?” I inquired, interested to know of what carnivores eat in a world where prey were no longer food choices. Additionally, I was not planning to go for a full vegetarian diet anyway.

“You seriously don’t know?” Nick exclaimed incredulously. “We eat insects as an alternative. There are fishes, but those suckers are hard to come by – they are supremely expensive on the Fishtown market in Tundra town as they are rare to find in the ocean.”

Insects - I guess I really am indeed going full vegetarian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
  


 

 


	21. The Stranger 8

Dinner ended on a surprisingly good note. Apart from the fact that Judy was a little disgruntled of her Dad disclosing the video to the expansively large rabbit family of hers, the rest of us were satisfied with the meal. I did find the pair casting short sporadic stares at me when I was chewing on the greens, which to be honest, I did not care any lesser. Soon it would become a common sight once they have bored their eyes out on my peculiar diet.

Looking at Nick, I could not help but feel anxious about being that close to him in person. Out there in my former world where I supposedly belonged to, there were many Disney fans out there wishing to be in this world of mammals such that they could be friends with the two stars of the movie. I guess I could count myself as a lucky individual. However, as exciting and exhilarating, as it all seemed, I was not sure of how I would interact with him. From one fellow fox to another, what topics do they usually converse about? Not to mention that I was merely a human trapped in the body of a fox – I knew nothing of being one.

Bonnie was clearing the dinner plates from the table. “Say Judy, would you mind doing a favour for Richard? He could definitely use a ride back to the city in your police cruiser instead of jostling into a train packed full of mammals like canned carrots,” she asked.

“Sure! We need to head back to city centre anyway,” Judy responded, smiling. She locked eyes with me for a brief moment, giving a positive thumbs-up. Her grouchiness from before had completely vanished from existence; she was back to her uppity self once more. Where did all of that negativity went? That was certainly a mystery by itself.

“That would be wonderful of you, Sweetie. In that case, I shall leave Richard with you two now; I have to check on the little ones right after I am done with all the dishwashing,” Bonnie noted, carrying the stacked dishes with both paws.

“Do you need help with that, Mrs. Hopps?” Nick offered as Judy’s Mum was teetering left and right; balancing the rather unstable mountain of piled tableware. Stu instantly rushed to her aid, halving her load.

Bonnie chuckled. “It’s fine! Stu is enough for the job. It is really getting dark out; you three should head back to the city.”

“You heard what she said; we will be A-Okay by ourselves!” Stu agreed, his head hidden behind the dishes he was carrying, only the ears managed to poke out from the heap.

As soon as Stu and Bonnie disappeared behind the confinements of the kitchen, I did not take me long to realize I was left to the police pair again. Just from the looks of their faces when they glanced at me simultaneously, I could tell that I was in for serious personal interrogation when we head back to the city.

“So Richard, My buddy Carrots here has quite an awful lot of questions for you,” Nick finally spoke, displaying his signature smirk.

He pulls on this demeanour so frequently that sometimes I wondered whether it was possible for a face to freeze in a particular expression from over usage. It was one of the many well-known myths I knew of; commonly told in children’s books and fairy tales by many authors. I did not count myself as an avid reader like all those bookworms in the library, but I do like some good old fiction stories when I am bored.

It was then which I noticed Nick’s paw waving right in front of my face. Apparently, I had been caught up in my train of thought that I had forgotten about them being right next to me on the couch.

“Seen a ghost, kid?” Nick asked as I snapped back to reality.

“Sorry, was caught up with something in my mind,” I replied meekly.

The fox then turned to the bunny beside him, gesturing a finger towards me as he nudged her playfully by the side. “No wonder he was dazed, you really are scaring him with your high ‘spirit’.”

Judy smacked her face, slightly irritated from Nick’s wit. “Sometimes you really are intolerable,” She noted to him dryly before looking back at my direction. “Come on Richard, we are going back to the city now.”

Nick pretended to have misheard her. “I am what - Adorable? Gee Whiskers; I did not expect that coming from you,” he mused, making the bunny’s ears shoot straight up.

 I watched as Judy re-joined the sarcastic banter between herself and the fox, following closely behind as they were heading outside. Their trades were of mainly cynical remarks or clever retorts; trying to outwit one another. It was quite amusing and peculiarly entertaining to observe them perform their typical routinely squabble – I did share some laughs with them in between some hilarious lines. Nevertheless, they refocused their attention back at me once more after we left the farmhouse.

“Richard, I have been wondering – How did you get to know of my parents?” Judy questioned.

 “I know everybody,” I answered back cheekily, earning a snicker of approval from Nick as Judy’s face fell from my reply. It was a quote taken from none other than the famous red fox standing right beside me. The three words, which he had used to not only, boast about his knowledge of other mammals; but also to act as a bridge for him to sculpt a quirky insult to Judy during the days where they were yet to be close pals.

Nick signalled at Judy with his eyebrow. “Seems like he has hustled you good, Carrots.”

“How did you know about what Nick said to me?” Judy was dumbfounded. Nick’s ears drooped flat on his head the second she said that.

 I was beginning to regret trying to come across to them like a magical mind reading gypsy. I definitely could not inform them that I saw it all in a movie, not that they would believe in that sort of hogwash even if I did tell them the truth. I mean; if someone told me that he knew everything about me because he had some form of twenty four hour surveillance tracking what I was doing everywhere, I would be placing the local mental hospital’s hotline on speed dial right away. I smiled weakly as Nick shifted his gaze at me.

He eyed at me in suspicion. “Got to agree with Judes there; How do you know of that?”

Crap. Why did I dig myself deeper into this mess?

“I honestly did not know about that; was just trying to crack a lame joke – I do apologize if that got you startled. I swear,” I responded, raising my paw with all three fingers lined up in attention. It was just a simple misunderstanding… a coincidence!

 

 Once again, I felt the pair studying me with scepticism. Attempting to pull off a white lie against two of the best officers in the city was nerve wrecking; perhaps that was what “dealing with the devil” felt like – being scrutinized by the eyes of the wiser was definitely not comforting.

Nick finally shrugged. The pressuring weight that burdened my back vaporized in an instant. “Maybe I am just that influential,” he suggested.

“Yeah, right, Slick Nick,” Judy retorted, resisting a chuckle.

We made our way down the dirt road, traces of tractor tracks were visible on the passage from the way wild grass was sprouting alongside it. To our right were the market booths; all of them were vacant and some were draped with rags for protection from weathers. Each had its own unique colour painted on the wood for the sake of differentiation. The bunny farmers who were tending them were already long gone, most likely back at their own hobbit houses and counting their earnings from the sold produce.

I looked up at the sky. It was already dark out; a solid gradient of dark blue accentuated by a spray of glimmering specks. The moon was its centrepiece; shining brilliantly like a magical marble up in space. I would have never thought that a world conceptualized by Disney was a thing of beauty viewing it from the perspective of the people living in it.

“Quite a pretty sight, don’t you think?” Judy noticed me stargazing as we approached the police cruiser, which was parked alongside the main road where the path abruptly ends. Holy mackerel, that vehicle was a giant compared to me.

“It is impressive,” I exclaimed.

Nick chuckled, opening the front door of the cruiser. “If you think that is impressive, you obviously have yet to experience Sahara square during night hours – You must really be new to the city.”

“I guess I am,” I confessed, struggling a tiny bit to get the back door open. “Isn’t this… car a tad oversized for you guys?”

“Oh. About that, we have to wait a while for the ZPD to get cars of our sizes manufactured. For now, we would have to stick with this; it’s the smallest one that they could offer,” Judy explained, entering the driver’s seat. She jammed the keys into the ignition switch right after she had buckled up. The car began to move the second I closed the door shut from the backseat.

“Do you mind classical music?” Nick asked, sliding a disc into the radio’s feed.

“Not at all. Just as long as it is not severely distracting.”

“That is great! Another thing we have in common,” Nick contemplated with a grin. He sighed wearily. “Finnick would never stop blasting his French raps and aggressive metals all day; I mean, who likes their eardrums getting torn to shreds? Seriously.”

The soft humming of the car’s engines transitioned into the gradual build-up of the music that was playing from the radio. It did not take a genius to realize that it was composed by none other than the famous rat pack band. I did not come from that era of music but work of legends live on forever. Even though the lyrics were partially different from the original human version of the talented quintet, the song still pertained the identical style.

“Rat pack, an old classic,” I commented.

Nick’s ear flicked up. “You know of them?” he asked.

“Listened to a couple of their works, they are very gifted,” I noted.

Judy smirked. “You two sure have a lot in common; Maybe I could even get answers from Nick about you,” she joked. “And that’s another one agreeing that you are old.”

“Nah-ah, Carrots. I have absolutely no clue whatsoever. Besides, you would have been aging like a fine egg as a jobless bunny living in the tiny confinements of a “Grand” apartment if I had not provided you with the lead to crack Otterton’s case.” Nick stated, returning the smirk.

“Maybe that’s why fox repellents exist,” Judy exclaimed resignedly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	22. The Stranger 9

“Hey, those suckers really pack a hell of a sting you know that,” Nick snapped.

Judy raised an eyebrow. “About that; what’s so harmful about the spray? I had never seen it in action yet,” she asked, curious. I was intrigued as well – one being that I do wished to see how it worked in the movie; and second being that it mattered to me as well since it was relevant now. The closest guess I could base it off of was it being like a pepper spray, which was quite worrying as I have seen daredevils pulling off challenges involving exposing their faces to the spray. It definitely did not turn out well for them, of course.

“Getting a speck of that distasteful concoction into your eyes would make them burn like the eighteen layers of hell,” Nick explained in a serious tone, ears pulled back and pointing a judgemental finger at the slot where Judy used to keep hold of that item. “I know that from past experiences.”

“That must have hurt a lot,” I pictured, making a mental note for myself. Fox repellent equals to pepper spray – avoid at all costs.

Judy snickered as she concentrated on the road ahead. “Then you are real lucky that I did not use that on you when you first hustled me.”

“Believe it or not; I kept my eye on it throughout the whole time – could not afford a dumb bunny to be dousing me in that poison,” Nick smirked as he spoke. “You should really get your dad to dump all those harmful products. I still have shivers thinking about him having a huge stash of multiple anti-predator related merchandises in the storeroom.”

“He needs a while to adjust, Nick. It has not been long since he just started trusting predators,” Judy noted, filtering to the side of the highway. She was silent for a brief moment. “So Richard, how old are you?”

Oh boy - here it comes.

“Sixteen,” I answered.

“Gosh, you make me feel old just by saying that,” Nick exclaimed. “I am exactly twice of that.”

Judy chuckled slyly. “Maybe you should adopt him and be a father then.”

“No thanks, I have Finnick to babysit already. I do not wish to be shorthanded,” Nick noted casually, gazing out of the side window. “That fuzzy little stinker is already a tough one to handle – noisy, rude, violent… and always hungry for junk food.”

“Aw, come on Nick; he isn’t that awful. He helped me out went I was searching for you the previous time,” Judy reminded him.

 “Speaking of which, where do your parents live, Richard? We can escort you back home that way.”

The question struck me like a crossbow bolt aimed straight into my forehead. My mind was a blank slate, devoid of an answer. It felt like as though I was a participant in a famous quiz show being riddled by a problem that I had zero knowledge of it. A set of multiple choices are shown; but only one was the correct answer. Should I approach it with a makeshift backstory, admit that I knew nothing of what happened, or give them a fake address? Worse still, the timer was ticking – counting down each and every precious second I wasted pondering on which course of action to choose from. As disarrayed as I was, I could not continue to entertain Judy with an absent-minded stare. I decided to go with my gut feeling.

“Actually, I don’t really have a place there. My parents left me when I was very young; leaving me to fend for myself in the streets,” I ‘confessed’. Providing a fake address was dumb – I knew none of the street names to begin with.

Judy’s ears drooped from my response as Nick somewhat appeared to freeze in his seat. “That must have been real tough for you, I’m so sorry,” she apologized.

“It’s fine. I have been doing this for many years already,” I replied.

“You know what? You could use my rental apartment till you find yourself a place,” Judy offered, eyes still on the road. “I can live inside my office for the time being.”

Nick shook his head in opposition. “No, no, no; Carrots. I do not wish to see a bunny that has not showered and groomed for days coming to work smelling like a used sock.”

“But Nick, he does not have a home,” Judy argued back. “It would not hurt sacrificing a few days.”

“Well, he can live with me. I have a bigger apartment than you, Whiskers. In fact, we do have a spare room now that I have mentioned of it,” Nick clarified. I nearly choked on my own saliva as he spoke. Me - some random stranger out of nowhere… living with Nick? It was excessively sudden for my liking.

“We? What do you mean by that?” Judy was confused.

Nick smirked at her. “I live with my mother, you dumb bunny.”

“Oh. Totally forgot about that.”

“I really shouldn’t,” I cut in, declining their offers. They both glanced back at me.

“You don’t really have a choice, actually. Knowing my buddy Carrots, she would not let you off the hook that easily,” Nick chuckled, eyeing at Judy slyly. She flushed a tint of red from his statement. “She still has me on her hook ever since the day she first hustled me; and two days after that, I became her partner in the ZPD. How strange, isn’t it? She must have ‘ _possessed’_ me.”

“That – that is not true! And secondly, I am not a ghost!” Judy shushed him, her grip on the steering wheel tightening from embarrassment. Out from the distance, I could see a large display of night lights come into view. We were approaching the lively city of Zootopia.

Nick laughed. “It’s just a joke, Fluff; you do not have to take it that seriously.”

“Now you are the one that is milking it,” Judy sighed.

“All learned from that particular rabbit,” Nick answered tactfully as he went back on topic. “If there are no objections, I shall take it that we have come to an agreement.”

He studied Judy and me individually in silence, waiting patiently for any signs of violent objection from either of us. On one hand, Judy was in deep thought but did not seem to have any complaints about the matter. I on the other hand, was speechless. Seeing that both of our traps were sealed, he smirked conscientiously.

“My apartment it is then,” Nick confirmed.

As we entered the city, the first thing I saw was the huge Broadway sign mounted on a building. As usual, it boldly framed the welcome video that highlighted the famous popstar of Zootopia – Gazelle.

“Hi, I’m Gazelle; and welcome to Zootopia,” the message played out on the screen before looping back to the start of the recording once more, replaying the song ‘Try everything’ as it did. I had always find it weird that the idolized celebrity was named after her own species; I could never imagine naming myself as ‘Human’ or ‘Homo Sapient’.

“Mammals who work near here are only hard core Gazelle lovers, I can tell you that. Nobody could stand listening to the same song on repeat for the entire day to night,” Nick quipped. “I’d rather listen to Finnick’s nasty collection; at least he doesn’t only listen to one song over and over. Working around here would drive me insane.”

Judy nodded, slowing the cruiser as we left the highway. “Even though I like that song, I still agree that it gets really bothersome after a few replays.”

“It sure is quite a sight, don’t you think so?” Nick remarked abruptly. He was busy checking his phone as he spoke.

I looked out through the side windows of the police car. Just by first glance, New York City’s Time Square was the first thing that came to mind. The sides of the street were bombarded with beautiful clutter; mounted with layers and layers of bright logos, large scaled posters and flamboyant neon signs. Roadside pavements were packed full of all kinds of mammals of varying sizes. Even the iconic street lamp that hosted a bundle of several directional signs was present there as well. It was literally Zootopia’s take of the famed district.

“It’s like a fireworks display set to pause,” I exclaimed in awe. I never had a chance to visit that part of the city back in the human world; and now I could safely say that I have had the experience of being inside the Times Square. Somehow, it made me feel like a million bucks even though I clearly was not. Twenty bucks of mismatching currency was all I had in my miserable wallet for emergencies during the camping trip; not like as though there were any shops located inside the forest anyway.

“A fascinating lightshow indeed,” Judy agreed. She turned to Nick. “What is your address again?”

“1955 Cypress Grove Lane, just pass Moss Street via Rainforest District,” Nick answered.

Judy glanced at him quizzically. “Why do you live in the rainforest district? That isn’t an appropriate habitat for a fox.”

“Being the heaviest discriminated species in the population then, my mother and I had no chance renting any sort of apartments in the city central. Nevertheless, we managed to get a decent apartment over there. We were already blessed knowing that we would not have to visit areas like Shady place or Fog Street; for those were unknown territories which house the shadiest of strangers. Even I myself do not know of anyone who lives there.”

“That place sounds like a whole lot of fun,” I commented cynically.

Nick nodded as kept his phone. “Sure is, buddy.”

“This is strange,” Judy spoke.

“It is indeed a strange part of town,” Nick replied.

Judy shook her head. “No, no. Not that, Nick. I mean up ahead, there is a huge crowd right outside the main city bank.” She pointed towards a large commercial building. True enough, there were dozens of civilians massing right outside of its main doors. “I think something bad is happening.”

Some of the mammals began to frantically wave at us the instant they noticed the police cruiser arriving at the scene. I exhaled anxiously; I guess life still works the same way even in a different universe – never once would it give you a break from stressful situations.

“Let me guess. Someone is robbing a bank,” Nick hypothesized semi-placidly. He was hastily putting on his police equipment as he spoke. Judy parked the cruiser right in front of the building before attending to her own gear.

“Seems like so,” Judy acknowledged, giving the tranquilizer a check before slotting it back onto her belt’s holster. “There should be smoke emanating from the building if it was a fire instead.”

Nick opened the car door slightly before closing it again. “Is anyone present at the HQ? We definitely need backup if those robbers are that confident of robbing the biggest fish in the market. They must have been well prepared to perform such a reckless heist.”

Judy checked her watch. “It is almost ten. We may have to call Chief Bogo via his contact number instead as Clawhauser has definitely left the premises by this time from the looks of it.”

“What do I do?” I asked. The pair looked at me simultaneously.

“You can guard our car till we are back I guess,” Judy exclaimed.


	23. The Stranger 10

“Tch… As expected, the cops are back to nip at our hind legs again.”

A silhouette masked by the cloaks of shadow peered through the horizontal crack of the window blinds. Below, a crowd of panicky civilians were addressing their urgencies to the new arrival of police officers. The figure scoffs in distaste, pulling back the slide of the pistol that he was holding. Those scoundrel mammals in blue were always there to foil his plans – and he would not allow it to happen this time. Forced to cower inside the shades for many bitingly cold winters because of them; he had tolerated enough of that hogwash. A conniving smirk crept up his muzzle.

He had an ace card to deal with them now.

“Just you watch, I shall prove to all of you law abiding low-lives out there… that your so called perfect crime-free little system is dotted with countless of flaws.” He snarled sardonically.

“You will never escape from the cops, you filthy robber!”

The figure turned around. Sprawled on the ground like a depressing heap of mess was the bank owner; arms and legs tied together with an excessive amount of duct tape. The stout looking horse flinched, scrambling and squirming back to the wall in fear behind as the figure’s bloodshot eyes glared him down from the darkness.

“What did you say, horse?” he loaded his gun intently. The horse’s eyes widened as he heard the gun load. “Would you care to repeat that?”

The bank owner shook his head vigorously in terror. Sighing, the figure disposed the empty magazine onto the concrete floor. He grabbed the petrified horse brutishly by the necktie and wrung him up past his shoulder.

“No? Well. Guess what, Mr. Goldmane?” he whispered into his ear from the side of his muzzle.

The bank owner refused to speak.

“Guess. What.” The barrel of the pistol dug itself forcefully into the side of the horse’s head. The bank owner whimpered in fright. “Do NOT… make me repeat my question.”

“W-w-what?”

The figure flashed a devilish smile. “Now that’s a good donkey; it wasn’t that hard now, was it?” He let go of the necktie and headed back for the window. The horse immediately writhed away from him. He stopped in his tracks.

“A FILTHY ROBBER, EH?” the figure spun around all of a sudden, delivering a solid kick; slamming right at Mr. Goldmane’s head. The horse flew from the kick - crashing into an office table, rendering him unconscious. He knelt beside the bank owner, sneering in crazed relish.

“I heard all of that; the sole reason why this nonsense of a system you money driven top dogs have conscripted must be brought to justice… one step at a time. Even the cops won’t be a problem soon enough.”

He reached for the walkie-talkie strapped on his shoulder strap. It was the time to send an important message to all those oblivious city dwellers out there. For the first time ever, he felt the most alive than of all the other crimes that he pulled off. He had been preparing this for many years to come and now the moment of reckoning has arrived. He switched the device on.

“Let’s get this party started, boys.”

“You reckon they have all kinds of booby traps set up?” Nick asked, tranquilizer gun at the ready. The crowd had already made clearing for the two of them; standing anxiously behind the boundaries of yellow police tape. Judy had hastily wrapped and tied it across the pillars of the building as well as the neighbouring lampposts that lined the street. As of now, they were awaiting for Chief Bogo to arrive at the scene.

“Most likely so,” Judy exclaimed, snipping the end of the tape with a pair of scissors. “No one in the right sense of mind robs the number one bank in Zootopia without any preparations.”

Nick smirked. “Maybe the mastermind really is insane. That would make everything much simpler.”

“I won’t be relying on that.”

“How many of them do you think are in there?”

Judy shrugged, hopping up beside Nick. “No idea. My guess is probably five to six-ish.”

“Heh; never would I have thought a fox like me would have my paws stuffed in all this crime solving. Honestly, it feels almost dreamlike.” Nick mused, resting a paw gingerly on the police tape border. “Touched police tape from a real crime scene – that’s a check off from my bucket list.”

“Did not know that you were a fan of police stuff,” Judy commented, surprised.

Nick recoiled in feigned shock. “Excuse me, detective, I really was truly passionate about ‘police stuff’ when I was a small kit. I did not gladly sign up for a position in the ZPD for nothing, you know.”

Just then, the faint sound of police sirens blaring could be heard off in the distance. Judy, along with a couple other rabbits and hares were the first ones to notice. Subsequently, the other mammals turned their heads towards the direction of the sound seconds later. Multiple sets of alternating red and blue flashing lights could be seen – indicating the arrival of a few other ZPD units riding in their respective police cruisers; one of which Judy knew was Chief Bogo himself.

“Did not expect them to be reaching that soon,” Nick said.

Judy grinned with pride as she waved her arms to signal them. “That is Zootopia’s police force for you, Officer Wilde; they are always ready for action. That doesn’t apply to you, though,” she noted, casually prodding him in his side.

“Ha-ha, very funny. As you would have observed from recently, I was never late for work,” Nick rebutted, smirking. “And do I have to remind you that red foxes like me are naturally nocturnal? I am sacrificing my body clock for the sake of doing my job, Carrots.”

“You were already up all day performing your petty pawpsicle hustling stunt way before I met you - that is not a valid excuse to make, Slick.”

Nick pouted in disappointment, crossing his arms. “Still does not erase the fact that I am risking my own health.”

“We have evolved far from our ancestors, Nick. Times have changed; maybe your body has already adapted to the lifestyle,” Judy suggested.

 

 

 

 

 


	24. The Stranger 11

Bogo considered his options; massaging the bridge of his muzzle. “Hang on, so you mean that sending a helicopter would be dangerous?”

“It is just a wild guess Chief; We do not know how well prepared they are in terms of firearms therefore, playing safe for now would be a better option,” Nick proposed. He watched as the usual band of news hungry reporters violently jostled their way to the front of the crowds, microphones in tow. “Perhaps seeking attention from the media is one thing they wanted.”

“They want to be famous?” Judy quipped, intentionally flashing a dumb question.

“Er… no. More like something along the lines of delivering a performance, Carrots. If they want to influence the masses, this is the optimal method to do so.”

“Please do not push against the police tape! This area has been cordoned off for your safety!” 

Wolford was close by, barking through the loudspeaker that he had in his paw as Fangmeyer did his best to hold back all the agitated news anchor crews.

Judy observed as the two as they handled the rowdy crowd. Wolford was still clad in his dri-FIT clothes; to him, the ZPD uniform was too stiff and hot for his liking. Chief Bogo had warned him countless of times to stick to the dress code but the orders had always fallen on deaf ears. She chuckled silently - Nick was the exact opposite of him in terms of suiting up; wearing the same collared Hawaiian shirt outfit ever since he started hustling had made him more accustomed towards the uniform instead. The last time she ever saw him in dri-FIT was during his officer training.

“What, Whiskers? Hit your funny bone?” Nick had noticed.

“It’s nothing,” Judy sniffed. 

He eyed her skeptically. “... Right.”

“Wolford! Lend me a paw, would ya? These guys are too much for me to handle alone!” Fangmeyer complained.

“Hold up, I will aid you as soon as I address the other side,” Wolford exclaimed, giving the faulty loudspeaker a firm whack on the receiver.

“You better hurry up!”

“Enough watching Fangmeyer and Wolford; We may not have an ordinary robbery to deal with,” Chief Bogo snapped, pulling the two back to the situation at hand. Attention back to him, he then signaled for two other officers. “Johnson, Anderson! I require your assistance.”

The lion and the polar bear officer joined the meeting. 

“Alright, here is the plan. I need you four to enter the building in pairs, search the area and secure the hostage. Judging from how they have intentionally left the entrance open, they might have anticipated us beforehand and perhaps set up a couple of traps. Due to that, Anderson’s pair would enter second.”

Anderson exchanged glances with his partner. “Why?”

“If it is indeed laced with traps or set for an ambush, you two being larger would be an easy target,” Bogo answered thoughtfully. “We must take into consideration that we are just typical police officers and not tactically equipped SWAT specialists.”

Bogo pointed at the vests which they were wearing. “These Kevlar vests may protect you from a simple gunshot of a handgun, but who knows what type of firearms they possess. This is not a computer game where you run off face first into the war zone and obtaining multiple bullet wounds like it is nothing - in reality, one lethal, well aimed shot is all it takes to remove a valuable Officer off the ranks permanently.” 

Anderson and Johnson gulped. 

“Which brings me back to my decision. Anderson, I need you to lob a tear gas grenade into the building. Then, I need Wilde to enter first,” Bogo locked eyes with Nick. “You are the best when it comes to sensing danger. Give a signal if the coast is clear - If it's an ambush, exit the building immediately.”

Nick could have sworn his heart stopped. Him? Going alone, without Judy -  head first into possible death? How about… nope. Nevertheless, Bogo did get one fact of him right - sensing for danger is his forte, but only from a safe distance. He is definitely not taking a chance upon stepping into a minefield.

The fox laughed nervously. “Aha ha, Chief! How weird of you to crack a joke at this time! It’s a joke, right? Please tell me you are kidding.” 

“Do you think I would be joking about this, Wilde?” A Rhetorical question. Ho boy.

Nick was practically on full panic mode. He has always been fleeing from danger; and dying was the last item on his list. He stared absently at the entrance. “Hah… this must be where it all ends.”

Judy placed a paw on his shoulder. “Calm down, Nick.”

Bogo crouched in front of Nick.

“Listen, fox. Hopps is right - You have to focus. If you flip on your panic switch, you are more than dead. Get a grip; you have always wanted to be a police officer to protect the citizens of this city, did you not?” Bogo knocked some sense into him. It seemed to have worked. “We need your expertise, Wilde.”

Nick cleared his thoughts. Chief was right; he is a police officer now, not some typical small time hustler out in the streets. Running away from trouble does not cut it in this field. He ran a paw across his face. Concentrate - never let them see that they get to you.

“Alright. Thanks for the refresher, Chief. You too, Carrots.”

“You owe me a drink, fox face,” Judy joked.

Nick waved a finger. “Maybe when I come back from the building alive, then I will consider.”

 

[Richard]

Seating at the back seat of a cop car was getting dull. It had been roughly thirty minutes since the Nick and Judy left the cruiser - all I could do was watch them interact with the other police officers who were present at the scene. Listening to the commotion was a no go as the windows were locked tight. On surface level, it does not seem a difficult problem to solve - just toggle the window locks; simple, huh? No. Looking at the dashboard, there were a couple of different buttons that could be pressed but I did not want to try my luck on those. Who knows what sorts of mechanical doohickeys are installed into this vehicle?

With the awareness of being isolated from the outside gnawing painfully into my sanity, I began to feel a little claustrophobic. Was this how detention after school felt like? I drove my fists forcefully into the car seats.  My thirst for adventure was etching a message into my brain - I needed out of here.

I looked out from the side window. There was an elephant officer close by; thank god for that. I banged my paw against the window repeatedly - hopefully she can hear it. From what I had learned from the documentaries, elephants had a good sense hearing. For once in my life, I prayed to the gods of biology - if they exist.

The elephant immediately reacted to the banging. Did not take long for her to notice it was coming from the cruiser. At first, she tried to ignore the sounds - probably assuming that I was some persistent criminal who was left trapped inside the cop car. But she did approach me with folded arms in annoyance after she figured I am not stopping the ruckus. Not wanting to give her the wrong idea, I tried my best in trying to look innocent. After all, I am still sixteen years of age. 

The elephant’s eyes widened when she saw me. Reaching into her pocket, she fished out a set of keys and unlocked the car door. A wave of relief poured over me when it opened as fresh city air from the outside greeted my lungs. The air freshener inside was on the verge of suffocating me to death with its concentrated flowery scent.

“Nick? No, you look a little younger. Are you his relative?” The elephant asked.

“He is my uncle,” I answered casually, doing a couple of arm and leg stretches. “He offered me a ride back to the city.”

“Well, well! He never said that he had nephews! I must ask him about that the next time we converse.” She looked towards the bank. “Are you waiting for him to come back?”

I scratched my head. “Yeah. They said they have a case to attend to.”

“Yeah, I have been informed that there is a robbery taking place inside the bank. Say, what’s your name? Mine’s Francine, pleasure to meet you.”

“Richard. Nice to meet you as well.” 

The walkie talkie on her belt crackled. “Francine, Trunkaby. Anything new to report? Over.”

“Give me a second, Richard.” Francine held up her device. “Francine here. We have been observing the Southwest corner of the building; so far there is nothing noticeable to report, over.”

As Francine was busy conversing with supposedly what I assumed was Chief Bogo, I spent the time scanning around my surroundings. Out of all the architecture that populated this part of the downtown, the bank was the most outstanding. I found it peculiar why this bank was not constructed with all the other skyscrapers near the middle of the city. It dwarfed all the neighboring shop houses and apartment complexes in terms of its sheer height. I shrugged dismissively - maybe it's one of those economical strategies that businessmen would proudly boast, or perhaps they hired some ‘feng shui’ experts to determine the placement of their establishment. I leaned against the cruiser, feeling a little dreary. It was already late at night, sleep is definitely catching on to me, despite the four hours back at Stu’s farmhouse.

The walkie talkie cracked again; I turned my head towards the elephant officer. The static from the device was more prominent than previously. Gosh, do they not have like, Bluetooth earpieces or something? Maybe their technology isn’t as advanced as I thought it was - or the inventor of the product has yet to make a mark in the telecommunications' industry.

“... Noted. Report immediately if something new happens, over.” 

“Roger that, Chief.” Francine hung up. She walked back to me.

“I have received information that your Uncle and Judy are going to be taking care of the robbery.” She noted. “Are you worried?”

“Uh… yeah, I guess so,” I answered. If I have claimed myself to be his nephew, it would be weird to not feel anxious about the matter. Truthfully, I know that those two should be fine with whatever being thrown at them. Besides, they are protected by Disney’s rules after all.

I yawned. This body of mine is really one of a kind. I guess the hectic mayhem in the human world was still getting to me. I shook my head clear; part of me wants to spectate the entirety of the action at hand - and I wanted to follow through the idea. For some reason, I could not rid of this gut feeling that something bad might happen. Even though Disney is all happily ever after, there is bound to be hardships along the way.

I set my eyes at the area sanctioned of by the police tape. News anchors, cameramen and journalists crowded the front, curious civilians in the mix. The mass media wrapped around the borders like a horde of brainless zombies. They filled up every possible gap so tightly that I could not even make out any of the officers inside - the big buffalo chief included. Camera flashes stormed the area, and the never ending chatter of invasive questions polluted the streets. I shook my head in embarrassment; mass media - mass media never changes.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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